Mai Soli
by Shellybeann
Summary: Xanxus was a heartless man, a formidable assassin,a merciless killer whose only goal was to become the Decimo to showcase his power ,right? Well, that's what Tsuna thought, until he's forced to face the broken child behind the fearless man..."Ara...Xanxus?" "Tsuna-nii!" "HIIEEEEE..!" Warning: May contain spanking in some chapters.
1. A Father's burden

AN: This is my second attempt in writing a decent story, so bear with me. I wasn't much into the anime but I was deeply inspired by the character. Also, **PLEASE** read the **WARNINGS** before every chapter.I will not be held into account on whether or not the content bothers ...enough of my rant..On with the story!

 **WARNING:** Brief discussion on spanking.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the unfamiliar characters.

* * *

Timoteo was considered to be a very patient man. He took family politics with a calm and well-practiced mind. He protected and provided for his family as any loving father would. He would heed an ear to the cries of the needy despite their status in the family circle . However, he was no saint. He was no stranger to loss and pain. And he was a human and a father to booth. He believed that nothing could possibly face him and destroy his resolve than the death of his beloved sons. _Boy was he wrong!_

' ** _Christ, give me strength_**.' He murmured particularly to no one. He could hear his right hand grumbling beside him.

"See, Boss. Didn't I tell you that boy was bad news?!" Coyoto bellowed.

"You take him from the streets, offer him a home and a family, spare his life when he tried to overthrow you and yet this is how he **repays** **you?**!" Coyoto spewed vehemently.

Timoteo sighed "Coyoto, _please_ ….He is still—"

"With all due respect, Boss, don't tell me he is _still_ trying to figure out his place in the family. The boy CLEARLY knows where he belongs and what he wants. He manipulated your kindness, even planned to go as far as—"Coyoto took a deep breath and forced through gritted teeth, "As far as _**killing**_ you to seek his goal."

"I have to agree with Coyoto there, Boss." his Rain guardian commented, walking towards them from behind an iron door to his right reinforced by Rain flames. "Your son is clearly insane. He tried to chops his hands of the cuffs when he found them to counter his flames"

Timoteo immediately stood up to face his Rain. "How is he? Has he eaten anything at all? How are his wounds?"

His guardian looked away and sighed, "Just a few scratches from his futile attempts to escape. He is safely cuffed to bed with Rain flames enforced to his cuffs. No more self-harm there." And then with a small smirk, he added, "He is clearly displeased and is pretty _vocal_ about it."

"No surprise there." His Sun guardian snorted as he and his Cloud walked in with a pile of folders in their hands.

"Those Varia brats run around, causing all the chaos and _we_ have to pick up their trash?! What bullock is this?!" fumed his Mist walking right behind them. "You better give them a good penalty, Boss or I will PERSONALLY set to deal with this rubbish!"

"Patience, Bouche. I will see to it as soon as I deal with my son" Timoteo sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing the wrinkles from his forehead. ' _God…He was too old for this…..but his son...'_

"Well…don't get me wrong but since freezing him for _EIGHT YEARS_ clearly didn't work last time," his Mist drawled sarcastically," What do you plan to do this time?"

"I don't know," Timoteo admitted, "Which is why I have sent Ganauche to fetch Sawada Iemitsu. We spoke over this last night and he talked me into letting him deal out my son's penalty"

Coyoto blinked. "Come to think of it, the boy does showcase a grudging respect towards Sawada. I always wondered why…."

"You seem to clearly know nothing about that child…." A deep masculine voice commented from the door to his right.

"Doctor Ritsu! Good day, Sir." Timoteo and his other guardians stood up to greet the stern doctor and shook hands with the man who looked to be in his mid-thirties. " I hope my son co-operated to your biddings, Sir?"

"He clearly did not, Timoteo-san", Ritsu signed, "But no worries there, I made him receptive", the good doctor smirked, which sent a shiver of dread down the guardians' spine.

Doctor Ritsu Alopa was a man feared through the ranks of Vongola. He was the family doctor since the reign of Vongola Primo. His fearless disposition and calm demeanour made even the strongest hitmen look harmless. His seven foot height only added to his sense of intimidation. Shoulder length silver hair framed a stern bespectacled face and a pale flawless youthful skin, a gift of his _rare_ flame, the **_Moon Flame_**. Well….a gift as far as the world sees it. This was a man who never tolerated disrespect and disobedience and rumours says that he's **EVEN** made Secondo weep like an infant!

' _I wonder what took to have the arrogant boy listen to him,'_ Coyoto mused.

"I have drugged your son for now. His flame is severely depleted and his throat is soar and bleeding, thanks to his _constant screaming_ ", Ritsu continued, reading through his clipboard. "He is both physically and mentally exhausted but that didn't deter him from thrashing around and spewing threats at anyone who approached him", Ritsu signed.

"Which means…..?" Timoteo gently coaxed the doctor.

"Which means your son is absolutely fine and is just being his normal asshole-self. Nothing that a few firm pats on the bum wouldn't cure I think" At this, Ritsu raised an eyebrow at Timoteo only to have him sign and turn away.

"If only it were as easy as it sounds" Timoteo groaned miserably, "He does not take well to being reprimand. I can barely raise my voice against him, least of all, lecture him." Timoteo shook his head, "I can't just waltz in there and enforce physical discipline on him, at least not in this state of affair."

"Besides" the Ninth's Mist added," I don't think he could be _tamed_ by a few swats- I mean…Wouldn't we have done it already if it _actually_ worked?!

"Not to mention he would murder us in our sleep" the Cloud smirked

"Don't think I haven't been tempted a time or two though!" Coyoto frowned "Gets me wondering how you managed to put up with him for so long. _**Devil's spawn**_ , I tell you! No wonder his mother aban—"

"COYOTO!" Timoteo admonished," That will be ENOUGH! Do not drag his mother into this, _please_ ….Bless her poor soul!"

"If ya ask me, he was pretty much well behaved for a kid from the slum" answered a soft voice from the depths of the dark corridor.

The Ninth and his guardians looked up to find their Lightning with none other than Iemitsu Sawada walking towards them, an uncharacteristic grim look on his usually kind face.

"Is something the matter, Iemitsu-san? Did you find your jou—"the Ninth was abruptly interrupted when a ruckus raised itself down the corridors. Iemitsu softly whistled," Damn, that boy is a prodigy alright", to which the rest of the guardians looked on, puzzled.

Ritsu was about to clarify what he meant when suddenly, he stiffened and fixated his gaze on the wall to his left. His eyes narrowed into dangerous slits and a low growl threatened past his lips," THAT STUPID BRAT! I warned him not to strain his limbs. That _idiot_ probably reopened his wounds! _Fuck!_ " he swore and rushed past them down the corridor towards the West wing of the mansion.

"Umm….that was perplexing" Brow Nie Jr. drawled, "What in _tarnation_ is going on?!"

"Well...I noticed Squalo dragging himself through the hallway.." Iemitsu casually shrugged.

Just then, a foot soldier stumbled upon them, sweating profusely, " Si-ire, Superbi Squ-Squalo!" he whimpered and took a deep breath," Sir, Superbi Squalo broke past the primary security around his room. He's hid himself somewhere in the mansion! We await your order, Sir!"

Timoteo sighed tiredly," At ease, please. I'm sure Doctor Ritsu will eventually find him. He must have placed his Flame in Superbi, which probably alerted him just now"

"I thought the Chiavarone Decimo was stationed with him, was he not?" Coyoto demanded. _Surely he could not have defeated Dino Chiavarone in the state he was in!_

"Well…" the soldier looked rather sheepish and it immediately perked their interest, " Reports says that he somehow managed to trip on…umm….thin air and hit is head on the night stand. He declared that he got his shoe laces tangled and…umm…yeah….and he promptly passed out"

Silence reigned for a solid five minutes

"Umm…Ninth?"

"Yes Ganauche?"

"Was Dino-kun rightfully chosen as the Chiavarone Decimo or was he given the position out of sympathy?"

"I am afraid that is still a _mystery_ to uncover, Ganauche" Timoteo explained lamely.

"Gotta admit though….The kid's got a pair on him, to ignore Ritsu's direct command" Coyoto commended, truly awed at the boy's courage or perhaps sheer stupidity. Ritsu does not take well to being ignored. Hopefully, the boy comes out of it alive. Noticeably, Squalo seemed to have a penchant for getting into trouble these days.

With a final wish of luck for poor Squalo, Coyoto turned to address the issue at hand only to catch Iemitsu and the Ninth share a fond smile as if in a world of their own. Judging from the nerving silence around him, he guessed he was not the only one who was let into the peculiar sight.

"Can't blame him though" the Ninth shook his head, "He is probably worried about Xanxus." And just like that, the sombre atmosphere returned with a vengeance.

Timoteo looked around and sighed. _Well, it's now or never! "_ Perhaps we should move to my study to discuss the retribution", he grimaced.

* * *

A few hours earlier…

It was _official_! The whole world was conspiring against him! He was royally pissed. Wait— that's probably the _understatement_ of the year!He was beyond his exploding point. Gritting his teeth, Xanxus tried pulling against his restraints one more time. Harder and harder….he heaved against the strain it brought to his body. He felt like a caged animal, helpless and….alone…. _Probably what they want me to feel, those bastards!_ His whole body was screaming at him in agony…..pleading him to stop…begging him to…give up.

 ** _No! I will not succumb to their wishes!_** _Just…calm down…._ And with that, Xanxus observed his present scenario. He was in a padded cell, clearly the containment cell in the mansion…maybe in Japan or perhaps Italy… and his hands were bound to the headboard of the bed. _Probably laced with Rain Flames_ …. _think they could hold him down forever…_ He could feel his blood begin to boil and the traces of his Flame of Rage surface only for it to be drowned by the cuffs! **_Damn..!_** The next second, a sudden sense of serenity engulfed him.

"I would advise you to stop unless you want to be sedated" commented a dry voice.

Xanxus flexed around to find Schnitten Brabanters, the Ninth's Rain guardian peering at him from the doorway. Xanxus promptly snapped his head the other way, refusing to see the face of anyone who served the old geezer. _He probably came here to mock me!_

Brabanters sighed and took a chair beside the bed. It was kinda amusing to see the man— _No_ …Xanxus was still clearly a child— trying his best to ignore his presence . He took his time to observe the boy in person. He hadn't seen him for eight long years and he still looked the same.

He sighed, "Listen, kid...I know a lot has happened and your rapport with your father is a little…. _strained_ ", he cleared his throat and continued, " But your father wanted the best for you, Xanxus. What he did, he did them with your best interest in mind. He would **never** intention—"

"My best interest?!", Xanxus barked a humourless laugh and glared murderously at Brabanters. _Boy…if looks could kill….he'd be in purgatory by now…_

"How _dare_ you?!", Xanxus snarled, " Who do you think you are, trash! What do yo know about me?! Huh?!What do you?!"

He could practically feel power vibrating around the boy in waves. _Absolutely astounding!_ But what drew him more was those eyes! They were red and vindictive, a fine glow around the iris… _Or where they really glowing?_ The tell-tale sound of the cuffs clinking against the metal headboard snapped him out of his strange trance. The boy was huffing in deep breaths.

" ** _YOU_!"** his entire being bristled, " When I get out of this…I will IMPALE your bodies in front of the _very gate_ of this mansion!" he practically roared.

The boy was like a feral beast— untamed and primal, his very name instilled fear and spelled death. Yet…Brabanters could see something else in those furious eyes. Despair, longing and self-loath— the boy was a vessel of walking complexes.

"Xanxus…" he patiently tried again, "Your father—" he started only to feel the boy explode with a sudden burst of strength—pure, untempered fury poured out of the child as he lunged at him with mad eyes. The cuffs pulled him back and completely damped his Flame of Wrath.

Brabanters watched with barely concealed horror as the boy roughly pulled his hands in a state of pure hysteria. He could see blood oozing out from skin broken by the cuffs digging into the boy's wrists—dripping down his elbows and soaking the sheets— as the boy thrashed around wildly.

"Xanxus! Calm down, you _foolish_ child!", he commanded as he tried fruitlessly to hold down Xanxus from hurting himself.

"FUCK OFF, YOU OLD FART!" Xanxus leered at him, a mad gleam in his eyes as he tried to aim a kick at his chin, "DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO, YA SCUM!" he spat at him.

"Xanxus— _please_ …"

"Leave me the **HELL ALONE**!"

"Listen to—"

"Get out— _NOW_!"

" **XANXUS DANIEL VONGOLA!** " a familiar voice boomed. "Stop this madness THIS INSTANT! I've had just about **ENOUGH** of this!" And there at the door was none other than Ritsu in all his seven foot murderous glory. He looked ready to gag someone to death! That's when Brabanters noticed the complete lack of struggle from Xanxus.

"Rit-Ritsu-san…" Xanxus stammered uncharacteristically, his wide eyes fixed on Ritsu in…. _fear?_

Ritsu approached the bed and pulled out a syringe from the nightstand," I'll handle it from here" he spoke briskly," If you would please wait outside" he added with a stern note.

"Sure…No problem" Brabanters sighed and made a move to leave only to find the cuffs of his shirt firmly grasped by Xanxus. For a moment, all he could see, was not a formidable assassin, but a lost child...

"Don't…." Xanxus whispered, his voice so low— he would have missed it, if it weren't for his sensitive ears.

"Xanxus…." He whispered back just as gently. He saw the child's eyelids flutter under the heavy drug and the emotional toil—until his breathing evened out and he fell into deep slumber.

" _Ahem_ " Ritsu cleared his throat, "If you may—"

"Ah! Yes….I am sorry" he offered a gentle smile as he left the room, not before stealing a final glance at the sleeping child's innocent face.

 _Xanxus…..just what exactly is going on in that head of yours…_

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 **Reviews will be appreciated. Thanks for the read! \\(^_^)/**


	2. Punishment fit the crime

AN: Thank you for taking your time with this story!

 **WARNING:** Mentions of blood and medical conditions.

Disclaimer: I do not own familiar characters.

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He felt himself float in an abyss of pitch darkness. He was cold. Nay, _scratch that_ , _his ass was_ _freezing_! To sum up, Squalo felt void and very much dead. He decided that he did not like the sensation AT ALL _!_

 _Where the HELL am I?! Voi!_ _Here's to hoping for hell to be on heck of a sauna, Tch!_

What was the last thing he remembered? _Hmm….?_ No matter how much he tried, Squalo couldn't bring himself to start the hamster in his head to start spinning the wheel. _Damn. Mushy brain! Takes the most convenient moments to snooze, Voi!_ He tried again _._ He remembered….WATER! Lots n lots of water and he was….FIGHTING! And he was winning until…. _Dammit! Am I on something?!_

Suddenly…a sharp voice broke through his consciousness like a gun shot in a night! The voice weighed such uncontrolled sorrow that his heart _nearly tore_ into two, just listening to it.

 **"** **NOOOOOOOOOOOO….! SQUAALLLLLLLOOOOOOOOooooo…...!"** ,it wailed in a heart wrenching mix of pain and horror.

 _Gasp! He_ _ **remembered**_ _!_

Squalo was assaulted with one memory after the other and he couldn't help but gasp at the emotion that came along with them.

The ring battle! He was fighting….and h-he—lo-los-lost…he failed. And he saved someone…. _the katana brat_ ….from the very beast of his namesake….And that bastard Bronco had to go and _**save him…!**_ And then…then…those Chiavarone idiots injected something into his arm, but not before forcing him to witness his boss failing to inherit the Decimo title.

 _Those bastards!_ _They could have injected poison into his bloodstream for all I care…._

And then…he remembered waking up in their HQ in Italy with that silly Bronco beside him. He remembered that idiot tripping on nothing and falling over those wannabe guards, knocking them out along with himself. _Snort! Typical…_ He recalled sneaking down the corridor and leaving a trail of blood in the red carpet. He remembered hunching behind the old grandfather clock as he felt something **_ominous_** approach him. Well, the last thing he saw was a blur of silver before consciousness failed him.

 _So…Am I dead now?_ Was this his punishment, then? An eternity confined to solitude?! _Fine by me…..No more of that shitty mess._ But he couldn't for the life of him figure out why he felt like crying his heart out. _Was this not what he wanted?_

 _Xanxus….they probably killed him too….the entire Varia…..my squad….my…..fam-family…..Noooo…._

A feeling of loss and shame engulfed his soul. He couldn't help the strangled sob that tore through his abused throat….. _Wait a second! My throat feels sore... Are we supposed to feel pain after death?_ Damn…this whole 'staying dead' business was beginning to drive him nuts! _Fuck this shit! Imma gonna haunt some Vongola's ass!_

That's when he began to notice soft whispering, somewhere at the back of his mind. He also noticed a persistent tingling building up from his extremities, working his way through his body, settling in as a low throbbing pain. _Okieeee…so he was so not dead then….._ And with that, Squalo tried to observe his vicinity with his senses, but the low throbbing pain from before seemed to grow as his consciousness returned, until he was numb to everything but the pain. He could hear the faint whispering from before, getting louder and frantic by the second.

 _"_ _Boss! I think he is waking up!"_

 _"_ _I don't CARE! He's in pain and he's burning up!"_

 _"_ _Someone, call the nurse!"_

 _"_ _Romario, he's convulsing! Someone go get Dr. Ritsu, NOW!"_

His lungs burned with the desperate need for oxygen, and he could feel his ribs rattle painfully with his every feeble attempt to suck in air! _Like a shark out of water…Heh!_ He felt something—no….someone restraining him—holding him….embracing him…. He felt, more than heard, footsteps rushing about his... _bed?_

 _"_ _Boss! His pulse is erratic and his pressure's abnormally high!"_

 _"_ _I know, Ivan…I know…"_

 _That voice! He knew that kind, comforting and compassionate voice…!_

 _"_ _Hang on, Squalo! Stay with us…Stay with me, dammit!"_

 ** _BUC_** **KING BRONCO!**

The realisation shocked his entire core and startled him out of his semi-conscious stupor with a startled gasp. He was, in no way, prepared for the bright light that assaulted him, nor those warm hands that held him close, whispering warm and comforting words into his ears.

"Shhh." The voice cooed softly," You're gonna be okay. I'm right here"

For a moment, all he saw were splashes of hazel and blond, but his eyes focused slowly, until a familiar face engulfed his vision.

"Buckin—"he managed to choke out half the name, before doubling over coughing his guts out. His throat felt like it had been rubbed with a pumice stone and a part of his foggy brain registered his entire frame trembling in Dino's tender but firm hold.

"Hush, now…" Dino murmured softly, "You're injured"

With as much strength as he could muster, Squalo rasped threateningly back at him "Don—don't tell me…tell me wh—what" only for Dino to place a finger on his lip.

Dino disapprovingly shook his head at Squalo "No arguing around, Squalo. You shouldn't have pulled that stunt when your body's barely recovered. Save your strength, _please._ " He continued to hold him, all the while idly rubbing his back.

"Besides" Dino gave him an indulging look," It would be a shame to lose you now" he smiled at him affectionately.

 _What in the world?! Did he just_ _ **imply**_ _—_ However, Squalo's train of frantic thoughts were interrupted as a new wave of agony crashed onto him. He could feel a coppery tasting substance rising up his throat and saw black spots cover his vision.

He felt Dino frantically shake him, desperately call his name, pleading him to open his eyes, but he felt too tired, too spent physically and emotionally. _No, Dino….I wanna sleep…._ ** _forever_** _…_

* * *

An hour earlier….

Ritsu finally took a much needed breath as he walked towards the Ninth's study. Finding Squalo hunched on the floor, in a pool of his own blood, was frankly, very disturbing. Did the boy _really_ think he could escape with such a battered body?

Ritsu snorted. At least he wouldn't pull the same stunt again, but knowing Squalo….Well, the entire Chiavarone family is on him now, not to mention with Romario around, hopefully there will not be a repeat of the morning's incident.

He knocked the door thrice before making his presence known. _Here comes the hard part…_ He took his offered seat to the Ninth's left, next to his Rain Guardian.

"Now that we are all here" Timoteo began," Let's start with the report on Squalo's state of health. Ritsu-san, if you may?" he looked beseechingly at Ritsu.

"As foolish as that kid could get, I managed to find him on time" he grumbled, " He may experience post-traumatic stress disorder, heavy fatigue and occasional blackouts. He could have started walking in a week, with the aid of a cane, might I add, if he hadn't pulled his little escapade today"

Sighing, he picked some papers from his folder and adjusted his glasses, " His wounds are healing fast, considering who he is…" He raised an eyebrow at Timoteo before continuing, " Doctor Shamal insisted I try this drug on him for his PTSD, but I am sceptical of its claim. I have produced a sample with me and request the immediate testing of this drug" With that, he handed a small vial to Iemitsu, who called in a guard.

"Send this to the CEDEF, bring back the reports ASAP" Iemitsu ordered, " Make this their top priority!" The guard stuck a stiff salute and rushed out of the room.

"Thank you" Ritsu closed his folder and looked at the Ninth, " I hate to impose but have you decided on what to do with the Varia" and everyone understood the hidden ' ** _and your son'_** in his question.

"Yes, yes…I was getting to that part" Timoteo signed, " Let's begin then, shall we?" he turned to his Sun guardian.

Brow Nie Jr. stood up, " _ **Destroying the misfortune that attacks the Family with their own body, they become the Sun that brightly shines upon an area**_ " he announced, " Though he was clearly in the wrong, he did what was expected of a Sun guardian to his boss. Till the very end, he personified the Sun in every fibre of his being."

"Don't tell me you encourage his act, Brow Nie!" Visconti sneered, " What he did was clearly against the family! There is no excuse for such betrayal!"

"Brow Nie's got a point" Ganauche spoke beside him, " _ **He must not only take the Lightning, but also the damage of the Family, like a lightning rod**_ " Ganauche sand out before addressing the others, " Such is the role of the lightning guardian. That's exactly what Leviathan did" he smiled.

"But they _nearly_ killed the Boss!" Coyote furiously added, " You can't just let them go unpunished!" he looked frantically at the Ninth.

"But it does not necessarily mean their punishment must be a death penalty" Bouche calmly added, " You have to admit though, if it were to be us in their shoes, we would have done the same"

"What do you think, Boss?" Brabanters turned to Timoteo.

"Brow Nie's right" Timoteo signed " Death is too much of a punishment for they are clearly young." Then to Coyoto's grumbling, he added, " Rest assured they will not go unpunished" he stated firmly.

He took a deep breath and then continued, " Since we are on the same page, let's discuss their respective penalties then…" he nodded at Iemitsu, who pulled a bunch of bound papers from his bad.

"Let us start with Lussuria then…." He cleared his throat, " According to Ritsu-sama's report, he is still recovering from his injuries dealt on him. So, he will be under house arrest under CEDEF, along with Esper Mammon for a month. Once recovered, they will be sent on menial tasks for Vongola under constant surveillance, for the next few months" Iemitsu then added evilly, "Also, Esper's vault will be confiscated for damage control and reconstruction" he then looked around, " Would someone like to add to this list?" he enquired.

With affirmation to continue, he picked up the next file, " Leviathan and Belphegor will be under probation for the months to come. They will be assigned to community service under electronic monitoring. They will be relieved of their duties for the time being"

Iemitsu picked up another file and continued, "As for Superbi Squalo…." He signed when he felt almost every occupant of the room tense up; he couldn't blame them though, considering their _history_ with the child," Considering his present condition, for the time being, he will under house arrest under the Vongola HQ in Japan, by the guidance of Doctor Ritsu Alopa, for his speedy recovery. No further prompts till then and he will be guarded by the Vongola Rain and Cloud" he reluctantly placed the file back on the table and picked the last one.

Now, the tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a _knife_ , it was **_suffocating_**. He looked at the file labelled ' _Xanxus Daniel Vongola_ ' and bit down a groan. He couldn't help but sent a sympathetic glance at Timoteo. _Here we go…._

He cleared his throat and grimaced." As for Xanxus Daniel Vongola, he will be remov—" he abruptly stopped when he heard heavy footfalls rushing towards the door.

"What in the world is goin—" Ritsu started only to be stopped mid-sentence by a heavily panting Romario bursting through the door, but before he uttered a word, Ritsu abruptly got up and ran out of the room towards their hospital wing at a blinding speed in a flurry of Flame and anxiety. It all transpired in a matter of seconds that had the guardians blinking at Romario.

But their whole world came crashing down at his next frantic sentence. "It's Squalo, Sirs! _I think he's not going to make it!_ "

 _ **Whaaaat?!**_

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Thank you so much for stopping by, Ciao~ (^3^)


	3. A memory reborn

**A.N:** Thanks for all those lovely followers and those readers who has added my story to their favourite. **_I love ya all!_**

 **WARNING:** Foul language.

* * *

It was autumn again, Xanxus observed from his perch by the fountain in the middle of the square. He could see the sun beginning to set, marking the end of yet another miserable day. Sighing, he turned around to note that his mother was in the middle of playing another piece from her beautifully crafted violin, a family artifact, she says. Frankly, Xanxus does not give a _flying fuck_ ; for starters, he just did _NOT_ get his mother's obsession over the instrument. It always sounded sad and forlorn, bringing in a sense of loss and distant memories of sorrow to the listeners. Wasn't music supposed to make people _happy?_ He felt himself get pulled into a melancholy mood. _Sign…._

Shaking his head, Xanxus turned around to observe the square. Despite the traces of the icy winter winds, the market was bustling with activity. From unique antiques to fresh vegetables from farmer's mart, the square was at its best. _I guess people must've started storing grains for the winter._

The thought of grains brought him back to his present dilemma and he shot a guarded glance at his mother. Judging from the coins tossed in the case of her violin, dinner for tonight was out of question, least of all, saving for the winter. The food stalls around him smelled divine but the hope for a good meal was so far away. _If only I could do something for Mama…_ What could he do anyway? No one's going to employ a _five-year old_ gypsy.

"Shut up, you..." he mumbled at his growling tummy, wringing his arms tightly around it.

From his point by the fountain, he could see the various assortments of cadies on display by the window of the square's infamous candy store, groups of children run out of the door with bags of hard candy and mouth-watering lollies. _Don't look at them! All they do is rot your tooth._ Yet, the prospect of tasting one of those candies, _especially_ the lollies, had been a dream for Xanxus. _So much for pleading Mama to buy some candies for Christmas…._ He hung his head low and sniffed miserably, his tuft of wild black hair obscuring his face from passer-byes.

' _Get your act together, Xanxus_ ' he berated himself, ' _It's just some sweet, delicious candy….Perhaps, next Christmas would be bett_ —'

He was abruptly halted from his depressing thoughts when he felt someone scrutinizing him. A sense of immense tranquillity and satisfaction engulfed him like a cocoon. Dark crimson eyes looked up to find a pair of wide, childish, glistering cobalt eyes looking back at him curiously. He also noted the distance between them, or the lack of it and _frankly_ , it scared the _shit_ outta him!

"Whooaa….!" He tumbled and pushed away, only to realize belatedly that he won himself a one way ticket to diving lessons in fountain water. He closed his eyes and prepped himself for the feel of cold water and hard impact on the fountain floor, only to note that it never came. Instead, he felt a tiny but _warm_ had desperately clutching his own, pulling him with an unusual amount of strength for a child. The child helped him back and took a seat next to him, all the while smiling at him cutely.

They took to sit by the fountain again with Xanxus taking his time to observe his companion. The child must be around his own age and judging by the body built and the voice, the child was _probably_ a female. Short, silver tresses framed her innocent cobalt eyes, further enhanced by her _ungodly_ long lashes. Her snow white skin looked delicate and unmarred with rows of pearly white peaking out of her rosy lips, as the girl gave him a shy but sheepish grin.

" _Hello….?_ Is there _something_ on my face?"

 _Huh?!_ Xanxus shook his head to find the child beside him giving him a questioning look. He felt his cheeks heat up. _What is **WRONG** with me?_

 _"Ahem!"_ Xanxus cleared his throat. "Umm….. _Hi!_ " he squeaked. _Real smooth…Xanxus…_ He mentally kicked himself. _So much for first impression…_

"You have _pretty_ eyes!" the girl commented, "What's your name? Do you come here often?" she questioned excitedly.

"I-I wha-?!" he swore he looked like a ripe tomato. _People tell me that my eyes reminded them of demons….Who is this girl complementing me out of nowhere?_ Nevertheless, Xanxus instantly liked her; she decidedly made him feel strange somersaults in his stomach. _Must be hunger…._ he mused.

She giggled at him, "My Papa, mama and I, moved to Italy yesterday. Mama's shopping while papa's talking to grandpa Nono over the…..umm…." she made an adorable thinking face and shrugged.

" _Okay….."_ clearly, the girl was a chatterbox but it was oddly soothing.

"So….I went on to buy some candy and then I saw you here looking sad and all alone and the—"she rambled on. The mention of candy abruptly brought him crashing down from his happy haze. _So….this was just another rich kid who came to brag about all the candies they ate in their lifetime…_ he signed. _Not the first one though…._

"—uld you like some candy?" _And then they start complai—Wait—WH— **WHAT?!**_

"Wh-wha?" he stammered uncertainly, for the umpteenth time. _Surely she didn't say what he heard…._

He was proved wrong when the sweet girl, with an adorable smile, pushed a giant lollipop into his slack hands. _Chupa Chup! He's been dying to try those for years…._

Despite himself, he felt his eyes fill with warm tears. He swept his arm across his eyes and clutched the candy firmly in his palm, as if it were something sacred.

"Why…..." he hiccupped involuntarily.

"Well, you looked upset…." The girl replied softly while holding his left palm in her right, "And candies makes everyone **_happy!_** " she declared brightly.

"Ah….Thank you" he gave her a watery smile.

"Aww…don't mention it! It was nothing, _really!_ " she beamed at him; "Are you happy now?" she enquired cutely.

"Yes…I am…very much" he grinned back. _This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me…_

"What's your name…by the by?"

"Ah…!"

 _They haven't even formally introduced themselves yet!_

"I am…"

"XANXUS! There you are, dear child" He turned around to spot his mother walking towards him.

"Ah…well…."

"It's alright" she smiled, "I am sure we'll meet again someday, Xanxus-chan!" And with that, she gave him a quick peck on his left cheek and hopped of the fountain, towards a tall lady who seemed to be frantically looking around for someone.

" _Wait!_ You never told me your name!" he called back, blushing furiously.

"Oh!" she giggled, rubbing the back of her neck, sheepishly, "Please call me Ari—"

 ** _FLASH!_**

Xanxus violently jolted out of his dream, his whole body drenched in sweat and trembling. Harsh coughs racked his body and shook his entire frame, as he made a futile attempt to read his surroundings. He felt completely disoriented in the dark, the cuffs pinning him to the bed added to his helplessness. Xanxus took in deep, ragged breaths but nothing seemed to calm him down. Tears of frustration started to seep down his cheeks. _His Mama, that child…it was **no dream!**_

Suddenly, he was assaulted by bright light and he heard the distinct sound of his cuffs coming of, before he was pulled into a firm embrace. A strong, muscled hand held him close while the other rubbed firm circles to his back.

"Hey, now….snap out of it" the voice, soft but firm, commanded him, "You are okay now…. _Focus on me_ …"

Xanxus turned around to note that the person holding him was none other than Sawada **_fucking_** Iemitsu, the very bane of his existence! _Great…his day couldn't get worse…_

"Iemitsu! What just happened?!" demanded a voice approaching the pair from behind the door. _I'll take that back…he absolutely hated his life…_

"It's just a mild panic attack, Boss. He'll be alright." Iemitsu noted that the boy's breathing evened out a little and his once dilated pupils, shrunk to their normal size. _Good….the kid's coming to his senses…_ He also noticed the room starting to grow warmer and the boy's eyes narrowing to feline slits… _Friendly chats be damned…._

 _"_ Why are you HERE?!" Xanxus practically trembled in his arms with barely-controlled rage, "Haven't you done ENOUGH to ruin my life **ALREADY**?!"

"Xanxus listen to me, my son, _please…_ " the Ninth started.

It looked like hearing his voice was the final nail in his coffin. It took the combined effort of Coyoto, Iemitsu and Brow Nie to restrain Xanxus as he bucked wildly in Iemitsu's arms, screaming obscenities at the Ninth and his ancestors.

"WHAT GAVE YOU THE GALL TO SHOW YOUR FILTHY FACE, YA OLD FART!" Xanxus bellowed, eyes flashing, "WHAT GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO CALL ME **_YO—RE…YOU—R SON!_** _"_

Then, he abruptly turned to Iemitsu and snarled at him," _Get your filthy hands of ME!_ " he struggled. His efforts only made Iemitsu grip him harder. He glared at Iemitsu with every ounce of hate he could muster, "YOU GOT YOUR NO-GOOD SON FOR DECIMO, JUST LIKE YOU WANTED" he seethed through gritted teeth, " ** _WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT TO STRIP ME OF!_** "

Iemitsu calmly returned the glare. He could see the boy starting to break emotionally. _Oh well….he asked for it…_

"Squalo" Iemitsu replied, pointedly. He could see a shade of confusion and worry shadow the boy's face.

"W-wh-what about Squalo?" Xanxus enquired back in what he hoped was a threatening voice. Iemitsu, however, clearly interpreted a tone of dread in his voice. _Not so tough now, are we?_ He internally smirked.

Iemitsu immediately tuned up and replied passively, "He's on stasis."

 _Stasis? **STASIS?!**_ Xanxus felt his whole world spiralling out. For someone to be put in stasis means they were literally frozen in time and space; the speciality of Ritsu-san's Moon Flame: _Absolute Control_. _B-b-but Ritsu-san uses his stasis only if….._

"What happened?" Xanxus chocked out. Why was he feeling this way? Squalo was just another tool for his use. Tools break, all ya have to do is replace them with stronger ones, that's all to it! _Then why do I feel like it's Freddy-nii's death, all over again?_

As a precaution and a measure of comfort, Iemitsu held the boy close as Timoteo explained, "Ritsu-san diagnosed chronic PTSD in Squalo-kun along with internal haemorrhage. Doctor Shamal believed that his new drug just might be the cure. Ritsu-san felt the need for the drug to be tested before practical administration" he signed.

"Aaand…?" Xanxus demanded impatiently. He could almost see where this was going. _Damn, that bastard is gonna pay for this!_

Coyoto, who sat beside him, continued, "However, that self-proclaimed genius felt that screening was _unnecessary_ and he gave hims—"

" _SO, HE MADE SQUALO THE GUNIEA PIG?! THAT BASTARD's **DEAD MEAT!** "_ Xanxus immediately made to stand but the Ninth interrupted him with a sharp, "Xanxus! We are not done yet, settle down, NOW!"

The room's occupants openly gaped at the Ninth and turned back to look at Xanxus, only to find him in a similar state of shock! If it had been for another time and place, Iemitsu would have laughed out loud at the boy's expression. He made the perfect ' _fish-out-of-water'_ face. _I guess the Ninth wasn't kidding when he mentioned about never raising his voice against Xanxus._ Iemitsu noted that there was a tiny bit of surprise on Timoteo's face. _Yup…definitely the first time to raise his voice…_

Timoteo shook his head and continued," Shamal, along with Ritsu-san, the Chiavarone Family and Colonnello, have taken it upon themselves to safely transport Squalo to the medical unit in Japan. Shamal never dreamed of his drugs counter-reacting to Squalo's Flames which, he explained, was what caused the violent allergic reaction an hour ago." he finished. A nerving silence filled the room.

"So…Is he going to be _alright?_ " Xanxus asked Iemitsu, "I am afraid that remains to be seen, Xanxus. But I assure, he's in _best hands_ now, child" he smiled softly.

" _Humph!"_ Xanxus crossed his hands and stubbornly faced the wall.

"I'll take you to visit him, along with Nana and Tsu-kun when we get there" he gently offered.

"Sureee…." Xanxus waved off-handily and choked on his own spit when his brain registered Iemitsu's words. _What?!Nana Tsawada and that brat Tsunayoshi?!Aren't they in Japan? Wait?!_

 _"_ Didn't you tell me that shitty shark was being transferred to JAPAN?" Xanxus asked incredulously, "How the HELL am I gonna visit him with your _BLASTED FAMILY_ , who are also in Japan, _MIGHT I ADD_ , when I am all the way here in **_ITALY?!_ "** _Iemitsu's finally lost it!_

"You are coming to Japan with me." Iemitsu stated back smoothly.

 _With me…with me….Wait—What?!_

* * *

 **Thanks for the read! *wink** *


	4. Xanxus' Penalty

**_A.N:_** Thank you so much for stopping by!

 **WARNINGS:** Mentions of blood and foul language.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own the familiar characters.

* * *

 _You are coming to Japan with me…_ Echoed those words…

Xanxus was pretty sure his jaws were sweeping the floor right now but who was he kidding….

 _Why? Why now? Why do you care…._ Xanxus gritted his teeth.

"And why the _hell_ would I do that?" he demanded challengingly. _Who does he think I am…his personal LAPDOG?_ Even the guardians looked on, perplexed, except the Ninth. He looked… _heart-broken?_ He noticed Brow Nie place a bound file on the table with his name on it.

" Xanxus Daniel Vongola…" Iemitsu read out loud, "adoptive son of Timoteo Daniel" he spotted Xanxus scowl at this, however, he made no move to stir up his Flames… _yet_ , "will be temporarily _removed_ from Timoteo's Wing" he heard several gasps but read on, "and be placed under the guardianship of Sawada Iemitsu and Sawada Nana where basic ground rules shall be exercised upon him."

He looked up to find the guardians look back and forth between Timoteo, who was starting to look more depressed by the minute, to Xanxus, who looked _horror-struck_.

"Boss…" Coyoto whispered softly. To give up his only son, no matter how rebellious he was, must have torn Timoteo apart. He looked beseechingly at Iemitsu, "This is _insanity!_ Why would you d—"

"What Xanxus really needed, apart from good tutors and a safe home, was real discipline and control, which the Ninth _CLEARLY_ failed to impart on his son" he knew his words were harsh, but it needed to be said, "So…it has been decided that Xanxus, albeit _temporarily_ , will be monitored by a stern mentor in his few days out of the Mafia." He signed.

" **WHAT?!** " everyone in the room, exclaimed.

Coyoto turned to his boss only to find him slumped on a chair, hunched over with his head buried in his hands, looking utterly tired and defeated. The rest of his guardians crowded around him.

" _Boss, you can't agree to this!_ "

"I'm afraid I—"

"This is **_unjust_** , Boss!"

"I know Viscon—"

"It sounds more like a punishment to _YOU_ than the bo—"

"There was nothi—"

"Iemitsu, _please_ reconsider…."

"I am supposed to remain impartial, Ganauche-san"

"Boss, can't you overrid—"

"I've already discussed this with the Ninth, Braban—"

"You can't just—"

" ** _THIS IS MY FINAL DECISION!_** " Iemitsu bellowed above the din. He noticed Xanxus cringe from the corner of his eyes. " _Look_ , personally I don't like how this has turned out but sometimes tough decisions have to be made, for the _greater good_ " He shook his head, "We have made enough bad decisions already" he muttered.

Iemitsu turned to the only person who had been silent through the whole ordeal, "What do you think, Xanxus?" he noticed Xanxus stiffen at the mention of his name," Wanna give this whole Mafia business a rest and live with the _commoners_ for a while?" he smirked.

"As if _my_ opinion matters" Xanxus muttered under his breath.

"I don't think I heard you right, Xanxus" Iemitsu raised an eyebrow at him," Care to run that by me again?" he added with a little edge to his voice.

Xanxus sighed in a very put-upon manner and shook his head." I have no inclination to comment on this" _for the moment at least_ ….he thought gloomily.

"If there is nothing else to add…." Iemitsu studied everyone in the room and after a moment of silence he turned to Xanxus and smiled softly," Xanxus…won't you start packing now?"

" _Huh?!_ Yeah…I can do that… _"_ Xanxus dumbly nodded, his eyes looking strangely moist, and left the room, but not before throwing a _tentative glance_ at the Ninth. The room succumbed to its familiar deafening silence. The guardians were shuffling around, looking anywhere but at him.

Finally, Iemitsu sighed and kneeled in front of the Ninth, "Don't worry, Boss. I'll take good care of him" he promised, "Look on the bright side, after a _messy start_ , Tsu-kun and Xanxus get to bond" he tried. He saw the Ninth nod weakly and turn to face him, taking in a shuddering breath.

"I urge you not to be too hard on my boy, Iemitsu." Timoteo looked up with pleading eyes.

"He used to be a really sweet kid" Ganauche mused, "Running around the main house and always clinging on to somebody" he smiled fondly to himself.

"I just don't know where I went wrong" Timoteo frowned, "He never expressed any desire to become the Decimo before…Not until…."his frown deepened.

"Not until his death…." Visconti walked up to them from where he was leaning on the wall. Noticing the bewilderment, he repeated, "Of what little I know of Xanxus, his first declaration of his right for the Decimo title was….

"A month after Federico's demise…" Coyoto finished breathlessly. "Why didn't this ever cross our mind?" he frowned.

"A lot of things surrounding the Cradle Affair don't add up" Brabanters sighed.

"The Ring Conflict has stirred up quite a ruckus among the European Families" Iemitsu stood up to lock the door, "It would be best to have our guard up. This issue must have definitely reached _their_ ears" he gritted his teeth.

"But didn't Xanxus stop exhibiting _those_ symptoms already?" Coyoto enquired hopefully. _No…not again…_

"That was what I was hoping for, but…" Iemitsu marginally reduced his voice and looked around, before whispering, "Did you _not_ notice Xanxus' eyes now and during his earlier panic attack?"

The statement immediately had Timoteo's attention, " _Please, don't tell me…_ " he whispered disbelievingly.

"His eyes….they were **_glowing_** …just like **_before…._** "

* * *

"How long do you think he's gonna stand there, Mizzy?" a curious maid asked her companion.

"He'll snap out of it. Besides, it's been so long since he stepped foot in the family estates" the said maid, Mizain, smiled and dragged her fellow friend away from her 'Xanxus-watching'.

Xanxus spent the better part of the hour standing in front of an ornate door, one hesitant hand resting on the doorknob, staring at the intricate details on it with doleful eyes. _Should he…or should he not…._ Xanxus shook his head. _It's not like he had something to pack from HIS old room…._

"Xanxus?" a soft voice broke Xanxus out of his verbal dilemma.

Of course he knew who it was…Xanxus snorted and turned around to come face-to-face with his father.

"Hmm" Xanxus grunted before turning back to the closed door. He frowned when he felt the old geezer's presence near him. Xanxus was about to politely tell him to 'sod off' but stopped short when he saw him pull out a key from his pocket and open the door for him.

"Go on, my boy…" Timoteo peered at him with a forlorn smile. Xanxus, for his part, gave him a sideways glance and entered the room.

The moment he stepped into his room, Xanxus felt like he was projected into the past. The room looked the same, just as he had left it before he moved in to the Varia HQ except everything looked clean and maintained. His Xbox was where he left it, the controllers and game cases splayed in front of a 75- inches Ultra-HD and beside two burgundy beanbags. He walked across the room to his neat mahogany bookshelf and observed that they were housed with his favourite genre of books, not a speck of dust anywhere. _Heck—even his action figure collection looked polished!_

Xanxus carefully picked up a book and sat on his burgundy bed, _Soooo…soft…_ Federico would always read him a bedtime story. He looked at the book and delicately traced its title, 'The Last Leaf' by O' Henry, his all-time favourite. Xanxus could feel a lump form in his throat and his eyes starting to burn. _Freddy-nii…_ he sniffed softly. His sorrow was instantly replaced with rage when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

He shook of the hand vigorously and turned to snarl at the man whom he _believed_ was his father. "Aren't you happy _NOW_? Seeing me _snivel_ like a fool?" he spat into his face and saw him flinch. _Pathetic…_

"What's your hand in this?! Got some hitmen ready in Japan to shoot me down like a dog?!" Xanxus growled, his hands tightening around the book, his knuckles turning white as he gritted out, "You should have just left me there, with my Mama!" Xanxus' lips curled into a disgusted snarl, "I would have been waaay happy there as a beggar than live my life as your son"

"Xanxus" Timoteo looked up to his son, "I never mean—"

" ** _FOR ME TO FIND OUT?!_** " Xanxus bellowed at Timoteo," To let me think that you were my real _F-FA-FATHER—that you REALLY CARED!"_ his lips quivered with barely controlled anguish.

Timoteo once again felt his heart reach out to the boy. He could clearly see the damage done to his child and it was HIS entire fault!

 ** _FLASH!_**

 _Timoteo rubbed his eyes as he read the latest report. The new boss of the Augello family seemed to have refused peaceful negotiations, he sighed tiredly. Just then, the door to his office flew open and in ran a seven-year old._

 _"Papa, papa—Look!" he ran to Timoteo's side and placed a drawing on his hand, "I drew this in Arts and Crafts, just for you!" he grinned up at him. Timoteo took the picture and placed it beside his report._

 _"Thank you, Xanxus" he replied distractedly as he answered a call," Shouldn't you be in bed, now?"_

 _"Ah...well…I wanted to talk to Papa abo—"_

 _"How about later, son? I m a little busy now"_

 _"You say that all the time" Xanxus pouted, "But this is impor—"_

 _"Off to bed now, Xanxus" Timoteo waved him off._

 _What he didn't know was that was the last time Xanxus gave him those blinding grin of his._

 ** _FLASH!_**

 _He knew he wrote the number down! How could he let the paper slip through his hands! Obtaining that number code took his men an entire week! Hopefully, it's still somewhere in his office. And with that, Timoteo barged into his room only to come face-to-face with Xanxus holding a paper._

 _"Didn't I tell you not to entire my study without permission, Xanxus?" Timoteo frowned as he looked through his desk for the paper with the number on._

 _"Are you looking for this, Papa?" a meek voice enquired, "I found it near the shredder"_

 _Timoteo hurriedly took the paper and breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God…it's here…_

 _"Thank you, son" he smiled at a dejected-looking Xanxus and immediately frowned," Xanxus?"_

 _The boy seemed to have an internal conflict before facing him with a determined look," Did you like my drawing, Papa?"_

 _What?!Drawing? Timoteo blinked. What draw—Oh! He completely forgot! He smiled down at Xanxus, trying his best to hide his guilt. "Ah! That drawing! It was pretty, Xanxus…I have it framed in my room"_

 _He observed Xanxus loose the little bit of smile that managed to creep into his face. He walked away with his hands in his pocket, shoulders hunched after mumbling a soft, "Thanks, papa…"_

 _What has gotten into that child of his, Timoteo wondered as he noted the number into his mobile and moved the paper to the shredder. He gasped in shock when he noticed the last scrap of his son's art and his heart torn into shreds by the shredder._

 ** _FLASH!_**

 _"Papa, Freddy-nii was—"_

 _"Didn't I tell you never to leave the estate, Xanxus"?! Timoteo asked pointedly at his thirteen-year old son_

 _"But I—"the child wailed._

 _"Didn't I?" Timoteo repeated sternly._

 _"Yes, papa…" Xanxus sniffed miserably, his blue contacts brimming with tears._

 _"Go to your room, now..."_

 _"Papa..." Xanxus moaned sadly as he inched towards Timoteo, his eyes desperately looking for comfort._

 _His son…Federico was murdered…brutally…He didn't have time for this, " **NOW** , son!" he ordered with a little edge in his voice._

 _The last thing he heard was a choked sob and the bang of a door._

 ** _FLASH!_**

No…he let his son down once. Never again! With his mind set, he called upon his Will and turned to face his youngest. Nothing prepared him for what he saw in front of his eyes!

Under the glow of the moonlight, his son's once sun kissed skin looked dark grey and ashen, but what struck Timoteo the most were his eyes…Large crimson irises, once cold, were now glowing scarlet and burning with emotions. His mother's words hit him then… _'Protect my Grandson, Tim…Don't let them see his eyes!'_

"Xanxus, my dear son…" Timoteo whispered gently.

" ** _DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME THAT!_** _"_ Xanxus practically roared and grabbed Timoteo by his collar, " _I AM NOT YOUR FUCKING SON, YA SENILE OLD COOT!_ " he spat and promptly let him go. _Get the message and fucking leave me alone!_

"No—you are wrong…" Timoteo patiently replied, "Maybe not by blood, but you are the son that my heart recognizes" he smiled sadly," You are the brother that Enrico, Massimo and Federi—"

" _ENOUGH WITH YOUR SENTIMENTAL RUBBISH!_ " Xanxus whipped around, "You buried your son along with Federico the _very day!_ He is gone and he's not _fucking coming back!"_

"Xanxu—"

"You should have KILLED ME when you had the chance" Xanxus growled fiercely, "You should have _NEVER_ adopted me— you should have just left me in the alley to _rot and die_ after m-my mother.." here, his voice cracked. And before Timoteo could find words to comfort his child, Xanxus had summoned his Flames. It lit up his sullen face and shone through his tear-filled eyes…. _eyes_ _that drew his Will and bombarded him with his son's memories…his pain…_

 ** _FLASH!_**

 _Xanxus staring at Timoteo with awe and admiration as he fought his son's kidnappers._

 _FLASH!_

 _Xanxus tasting Enrico's disastrous cooking with a smile on his face while the rest of the family gagged into their napkins when his eldest was not looking._

 _FLASH!_

 _Xanxus playing his violin while his silver-haired friend and Massimo's kids danced around him._

 _FLASH!_

 _Xanxus looking at the crumbled picture he drew for Timoteo, a number written at the back._

 _FLASH!_

 _Xanxus standing in the middle of a battle field littered with mangled corpse and storm flames, covered from head to toe in Federico's blood._

 ** _FLASH!_**

"You are a coward, old man…" Xanxus whispered solemnly, towering over him, "For old times' sake, I'll do the dirty work for you…" And with that, Xanxus brought his hands, burning with his Flame, towards his own neck. _I'm sorry…I guess we both had our fair share of misery…papa_ … Xanxus closed his eyes in anticipation as he made to slash his neck but he never felt the intense burn of his Flame. Instead, he felt a firm hand snatch his hand in a death grip and..

 ** _SLAP!_**

Xanxus felt his head snap to the side from the _sheer force_ behind the slap. A sharp sting took over his right cheek. He turned back to look at the old man and _almost_ flinched when he was met with a murderous glare. If he were any lesser than the boy he was, Xanxus would have peed his pants. And that's when reality hit him… _the old man SLAPPED him…his calm and collected FATHER, THE EPITOME OF PATIENCE AND GRACE…SLAPPED HIM…._

Xanxus placed a delicate hand over his stinging cheek. He should be _angry!_ He should _shred_ this man like paper! Instead, he felt his eyes starting to burn with tears of shame and longing. All he managed to do was hiccup a weak, _'You slapped me..._ ' before he was pulled into a fierce hug by the Ninth.

And Xanxus, killer assassin and heartless bastard of a son, broke down in his father's arms after _13 years..._

* * *

 **Thanks for the read…See you next week! Chuu~**


	5. Tsuna's houseguest

**_A.N:_** Thank you so much for stopping by and thank you **MaTsuRi2308** and my anonymous guest for reviewing and all those lovely readers who have placed my story in their favourites and alerts.

 ** _WARNINGS:_** Creepy Mukuro— well I guess that's normal.

 ** _Disclaimer:_** I do not own the familiar characters.

* * *

For a flight planned at the last minute, the travel wasn't so bad, Iemitsu mused as he surfed through his agenda, taking a sip out of his cup of juice. He peered at the reddening sky through the window and checked his watch. _Finally, we are almost there…_ He couldn't wait to see his sweet Nana, not to mention his brave tuna-fish, Iemitsu almost giggled in supressed glee. He could tell from Nana's voice on the phone that she was as excited as he was. After all, it's been almost _thirteen_ years since she last saw Xanxus, and she used to absolutely adore him as a child _. Hopefully they will warm up to each other soon…_

He was jolted out of his thoughts when he heard a weak groan to his side, some shuffling, a few muttering and finally soft purring. Iemitsu couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips as he observed Xanxus who was fast asleep, curled up in the seat next to him _. Ah…travelling for the first time after thirteen years…he must be severely jet-lagged…_ Iemitsu mused as he ran a gentle hand through the boy's spiky hair. His smile widened more when he felt Xanxus lean into the touch.

It was really amusing how Xanxus did all he could to ignore him when they first boarded the car from the mansion. He, however, did not miss the subtle look Xanxus sent Timoteo's way before settling in the car or the pleased and contented look on Timoteo's face as he and his guardians send them off. Timoteo, once he had settled his grievances with Xanxus in his room, had pulled all of his guardians to help him pack his son's luggage. The mansion, for the first time in ten years, was bustling with activities, with the maids running to the dryers and Xanxus sitting on the bed covering his face in embarrassment as Timoteo fussed over him.

Iemitsu sighed. He was yet to make up to the boy— _Heck!_ He was yet to bury the hatchet with Tsuna after he left him alone with his mother for all those years. Iemitsu grimaced, "Man…I really did mess up a lot, didn't I?" he muttered to himself.

He perked up when he heard the familiar announcement for descent and checked his seatbelt. He turned over to Xanxus and slightly shook his shoulders, "Xanxus? Come on, child, we are almost there!" He saw the boy scowl in his sleep and shift over to lay a hand over the armrest, relaxing into the seat.

Iemitsu sighed. _Definitely jet-lagged…_ he smiled in amusement. He reached over to fasten Xanxus' seatbelt and readjusted his seat back.

 _Finally, we are home!_

* * *

Stepping into the shade of the Nagamura Bakery in Namimori Shopping District, Tsuna took a moment to relish the cool atmosphere, all the while wiping his brow with the back of his hand. He looked at the different assortment of sweets and smiled to himself. _What to get? They all look so good…_ It was the last day of school before their summer vacation and Tsuna couldn't be any happier. His smile brightened when he heard footsteps stop behind him.

"Wow, Tsuna, you were _really_ fast on your feet" Yamamoto complimented, walking up to his left.

"Whom do you take Juudaime for, ya _moron?!_ " Gokudera growled at a laughing Yamamoto before turning to face Tsuna, smiling adoringly at him," What is it that you want to buy, Juudaime? I learned _everything_ I can about Japanese desserts! I can choose the _perfect_ gift for you!" Gokudera pumped his fist in excitement.

"Thank you, Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna chimed and looked around. Frankly, he still held mixed feelings when it came to his father coming over to stay, but whatever made his mother happy was enough to satisfy him. His mother _always_ deserved the _BEST!_

"So Juudaime, what kinda food does _he_ prefer?" Gokudera enquired, turning around to face him from the glass cases of sweets he was examining.

"Ah, Tsuna, you didn't tell me you were gonna gift something to your new houseguest" Yamamoto walked over to examine the bitter sweets.

"Ah well…I wanted him to feel comfortable so I thought, why not?" Tsuna smiled sheepishly, "But I don't know what he likes…well…I haven't even met him before. But mom was really excited at the prospect of hearing the news yesterday night"

 _Excited would be the understatement of the year…_ Tsuna smiled. She was practically bubbling with happiness, blabbering about how long it had been since 'Dan-kun' had last visited, and how much he must have grown, and how he was going to have so much fun here with Tsuna and his friends. Tsuna was _gaping_ at her the whole time.

"Judging from what mom told me about Dan-kun, he seems to be a really sweet person" Tsuna looked at Yamamoto surveying the rack of Dorayaki. He sweat dropped, "Ano…Yamamoto…I don't think Squalo would _appreciate_ any gifts from you"

"Huh! You think so?!" he blinked at Tsuna before turning to inspect another case, "Hmm…maybe I'll get him some Mochi then…and some instant Ramen— _of course_! _Haha…!"_ he beamed at him and walked over to the counter to order some Mochi. Tsuna just stared _… Giving Squalo-san a 'get well soon' present is akin to suicide!_ He could already imagine some worst case scenarios, well, the only best case he could imagine is Squalo screaming at the top of his lungs for Yamamoto to get away from him.

"Juudaime, how about some Sakura Mochi or perhaps some Coffee Jelly…" Gokudera pointed to the said desserts, thankfully breaking him from his train of unpleasant thoughts. Frankly, Gokudera felt a little wary of this _so-called 'Dan-kun'_ , especially since Juudaime seemed happy about this person residing with him. He was looking forward to spending the vacations with his _precious_ Juudaime, with Yamamoto being called to assist with that shark bastard, but his plans were sky rocketed as usual. Nevertheless, he would visit him every day and make sure this Dan-kun knew his place.

After the purchase, the gang found themselves in a nearby ice cream shop, chattering happily about their vacation plans.

"Juudaime…You mentioned earlier that your mom was happy that this mystery house guest of yours was coming back to stay…Does that mean she he has stayed in your house before?" Tsuna looked up from his milkshake and nodded his head, "I may not remember him but mom told me that he used to visit often before I was born"

Taking another sip, Tsuna chuckled, "Seeing how I was completely lost in her frenzy to get a room ready for him, she sat down with me yesterday night and told me all sorts of stories about him." _The best one so far was a ten-year old Dan-kun trying to drive a car to the hospital, when he could barely reach the steering wheel, when his mom was in labor and while his 'no-good' dad was not around_. Tsuna laughed, taking a moment to bask in comfortable mood his friends created. _God—he missed this so much!_

A month ago, he was just ' _Dame-Tsuna'_ to everyone, well….he still is, but the Ring Conflict had given him a whole new perspective of life. He may not love the prospect of leading a Mafia Family, but he sure as _heck_ loved his friends he managed to make along the way! _Speaking about the Ring Conflict…_ he turned to Yamamoto…

"Yamamoto, what did they ask of you anyway?" Tsuna asked casually. It couldn't be anything bad, considering the fact that the last time he saw Squalo; he was wrapped from head to toe in stitches. _Surely, he hadn't gotten away or something._

"Oh, yeah…I never explained my cool mission, did I?" Yamamoto laughed; rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Tsuna sweat dropped. _He still thinks it's a game…_

 _"_ They want me and Hibari-san to babysit Squalo—isn't it exciting!" Yamamoto beamed innocently at them.

Unfortunately, Gokudera took the exact moment to take a mouthful of his milkshake, only to choke and spew it out in surprise, _thankfully_ away from his other two friends. However, he composed himself quickly and waved of the waitress' concern before croaking out a shocked, ' _what?!'_

"Well…The report that I got explained that there was this doctor named Ritsu Alopa" he stopped when he heard a sharp gasp from Gokudera.

"Ano…is something wrong?" Tsuna asked meekly, noticing the absolutely constipated look on Gokudera's face.

"Ah…It's nothing Juudaime" he gave an assuring smile to Tsuna before motioning Yamamoto to continue.

"Ah! Yes…where was I? Then, the doc's report mentioned about…" here Tsuna noticed Yamamoto's brows furrowing, a distressed look engulfing his usually carefree face," all the injuries Squalo's body sustained" he grimaced, while muttering, " _especially from the shark bite."_

Tsuna turned away, unable to offer any sort of comfort to the guilt Yamamoto felt. Of course—they all held their fair share of regrets from the Ring battles—well…except Hibari and perhaps Mukuro, and Lambo must have already _forgotten_ the whole ordeal—but there was something between Yamamoto and Squalo that Tsuna couldn't figure out. Squalo's name, as far as Yamamoto was concerned, was a taboo. He had even caught Yamamoto staring for hours at anything that was silver. Mentioning about Squalo also drew Tsuna's thoughts to Xanxus and his desperate stare, his broken soul, his betrayal hope, his abuse— Tsuna shook his head _. I left him there…just like that…_

"So…how did Hibari-san agree to this?" Tsuna smiled, desperately trying to change the subject. It had the desired effect as Yamamoto gave a hearty laugh, startling the near-by customers.

Once he composed himself, he smiled and threw a hand at the back of his chair, "Well…the circumstances that brought Hibari into this—"he stifled a giggle and continued," Well…he was _tricked!_ " he laughed out loud.

" ** _WHAT?!"_** Gokudera and Tsuna exclaimed simultaneously.

"I wouldn't have believed it had I not seen it with my very eyes" Yamamoto smirked, his eyes twinkling with mirth," Reborn somehow managed to bring both Mukuro and Hibari together in the same room during mission briefing" At their horrified look he added, "They are still alive, of course."

Yamamoto stifled a laugh and continued. "Mukuro _volunteered_ to take over Hibari's job, stating that he had no doubt whatsoever that Hibari will not stand for the _naturally loud_ Squalo ,and as a merciless disciplinarian, would _definitely_ mess up when it came to nursing someone to health." He laughed.

"So…Hibari-san took the bait, just to prove Mukuro wrong, and now he is stuck with you" Gokudera finished for him, " _Damn_ , now that was sneaky…" he couldn't help but grin. _Give it to Mukuro to rile Hibari up..._

"Yup!" Yamamoto beamed, "Mukuro is really smart!" Tsuna and Gokudera couldn't help but hit their heads on the table. _A dysfunctional psychopath would be more accurate…_ Gokudera muttered.

"Kufufufu…I would consider myself a _HIGHLY_ dysfunctional sociopath, thank you very much" a voice echoed from behind them. The trio immediately got on their feet and looked around.

"You heard that too, didn't you?" Yamamoto enquired, checking around the corner.

"Of course we did, _idiot!_ " Gokudera hissed. After a moment of silence, they relaxed and turned back to their table.

"Oh look! The bill's here" Tsuna made a reach for it only for Yamamoto to grab it away, muttering a sweet, ' _my treat'_. His smiled turned curious, when he noticed a note written at the back of the bill.

"What is it, Yamamoto?" Tsuna asked concerned, peering at the bill over his shoulders," Hmm...It says— _'Hand this over to the waitress in counter 7'_ —Okaay…"

Yamamoto looked around and noticed a waitress leaning over the counter, her ebony bangs shadowing her face. Tsuna noticed that the shop was suspiciously quiet.

"Do we _really_ have to give this to the waitress?" Tsuna squeaked out. She looked like a child he saw in a movie where the said child crawled out of a well. _HIEEEEEE….!_

"It's alright, Juudaime. I'll protect you" Gokudera stepped in front of him as Yamamoto walked up to the lady.

"Umm—I got this note along with my bill an—"Yamamoto was abruptly cut off when a bouquet of pink tulips were pushed on to his face, obscuring his view of the lady.

"Ano…" Yamamoto took the bouquet only to notice the lady missing. A plain white card by the counter caught his attention.

"That's it…" he heard Tsuna letting out a relieved sigh beside him, "Ara…Yamamoto, you have a secret admire—" Tsuna started to tease only to stop, noticing Yamamoto uncharacteristically gritting his teeth.

"It's not for me Tsuna" Yamamoto gave him a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Tsuna plucked the card from Yamamoto's hand and read out loud,

 _"Here's a bunch of feel-better hugs…_

 _Get well soon, dear Squ-chan!_

 _Love,_

 _Your secret admirer…Kufufufu…!_

Gokudera resisted the urge to face palm. He might as well stick Mukuro's name in _neon lights_ , that idiot! _Then again…I don't think Squalo was there for Mukuro's battle to hear his signature laugh._

He stiffened when he heard a clearly displeased voice beside him. It took a moment for him to realize the it was coming from Yamamoto.

"What do you think he wants from him?" Yamamoto's gruff voice enquired, eyeing the bouquet with barely supressed distaste. _There it was again_ — the emotions that Yamamoto felt, that Tsuna couldn't place a finger on. It was unlike Yamamoto to feel any sort of enmity towards anyone—including those who wish harm up on him, but when it came to Squalo…

"If he tries something funny…" he heard Yamamoto mutter darkly, his voice holding so much threat that it made Tsuna shiver. Reborn's words chose that very moment to echo in his mind. _He's got the instincts of a natural born hitmen…_ Tsuna was sure he'll never get used to this side of his best friend.

And just like that, he tucked the flowers ineptly in his bag and smiled at them as if nothing happened. "What do you say we walk you to your home Tsuna? Maybe we could meet Dan-kun if we are lucky!" Yamamoto laughed before heading towards Tsuna's house.

"May I come too, Juudaime? I wanna meet this kid too…He is, after all, residing with you" Gokudera grimaced.

" _Sure!_ " Tsuna beamed and walked faster to catch up with Yamamoto. _I wonder if Dan-kun likes me…_ Tsuna's eyes glimmered with hope. He could see the lights turned on in his room. _Ah…they are already home._ He gulped nervously. Oddly, his instincts were gnawing his senses, almost dancing in delight.

"Um…Tsuna? We are _here..."_ he looked up to see that they were indeed near his door and gulped audibly.

"Are you alright, Juudaime?" he heard Gokudera's concerned voice. Frankly, he wasn't sure himself. Taking a deep breath, he threw open the door and walked inside, loudly announcing, "Kaa-san, I am h-h- _ho—!"_ he choked and stood frozen at the doorway to the kitchen.

Standing near the stove, stirring a pan of _god-knows-what_ , in a pair of mid-thigh pink lounge shorts and a grey tank top, regarding him with a poker face, was none other than—

" ** _X-XA-XANXUS!_** " Tsuna squeaked in terror, tripping over and crawling backwards till his back hit the wall, closing his eyes and pointing his index finger at him in terror. _This is all a messed up dream…yeah…that's right…_ He thought he heard the distant voice of Gokudera and Yamamoto. _Perhaps he was still in class…_

He opened his eyes to come face-to-face with none other than a crouched Xanxus, smirking at him in amusement, " _Oi_ , Scum!" he called.

"Y-y-yes?" Tsuna stuttered. _He was gonna die…!_

 _"Boo!"_

 ** _"HIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…!"_**

* * *

 **And that's all for today!**

 **R &R everyone! Than**k **you for your time! 3**


	6. If it was a dream

**_A.N:_** Thank you so much for stopping by and thank you **_seryuTammi_** for your sweet review and all those lovely readers who have placed my story in their favourites and alerts. Love ya all!

 ** _WARNINGS:_** Foul language

 ** _Disclaimer:_** I do not own the familiar characters.

* * *

He was a _DAMN_ fool! What kind of right hand was he, letting his Juudaime walk into the house first?! He should have surveyed the place first, _dammit!_ Gokudera's heart thundered against his ribs as he stormed into the house in a flurry of protectiveness and rage.

"Juudaime! I am her—"Gokudera stopped short noticing his Juudaime flat on the floor by the kitchen door, " _No_ … _Juudaime_ …" he whimpered getting on his knees and crawling up to a clearly knocked out Tsuna.

"Juudaime…I am so sorry…I failed you…" Gokudera moaned, hugging Tsuna's lifeless body close to himself. He barely registered Yamamoto's silent footsteps approach him from behind. _Poor Juudaime—how he must have desperately called out to him!_ **JUUDAIMEEEE….!** He was literally washed off his self-pity when a bucket of freezing water was dumped over him and the said bucket over his head.

"WAAAAAAAAHH…!" Tsuna screamed, snapping out of his self-inflicted comatose. He looked around to find—"HIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…! BU-BU-BUCKET HEAD MONSTER!" he wailed, getting on his feet and trying to make a run for it, only to trip in a puddle of water and face plant on the carpet. Beside him, Gokudera was scrambling all over the floor, desperately searching for Tsuna with a red bucket sitting proudly on his head.

Xanxus, who took to standing at a safer distance beside Yamamoto, observed the total chaos in front of him with morbid fascination. _This bunch of half-wits was gonna lead Vongola…_ Xanxus mused and gave up all together, the very thought traumatizing him _. Are they always like this_ … _Maybe he shouldn't have dumped the bucket on the stupid bomber's head._ He looked at Yamamoto who was smiling like an idiot at his deranged friends. Xanxus shook his head in disbelief and cleared his throat.

Taking in a deep breath, he roared, " **GET YOUR ACTS TOGETHER, YA CRETINS!** " A heavy silence fell up on the room's occupants. Gokudera realizing belatedly that he was breathing inside a bucket, pulled it off while a giggling Yamamoto helped Tsuna up.

" _Tch…"_ Xanxus grimaced at the pathetic scene and walked back to the stove _. I can't stand them for even a fucking minute…How am I supposed to tolerate them for a FREAKING MONTH?!_ Xanxus gritted his teeth. _Dammit, Iemitsu!_ He could feel a nerve tick in his forehead.

" ** _YOU!"_** Gokudera started, his hands moving to his array of bombs," WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING HERE, YA BASTARD?!" he stood in front of Tsuna, who looked like he was about to burst in to tears any second.

It took all of Xanxus' strength to restrain from throwing the hot pan of sauce on the idiot's face, "HELL IF I KNOW, ASSHOLE!" he muttered darkly. _Take the hint and get lost, bastard…_

Unfortunately, Gokudera being his usual suicidal-self was determined to press on. He turned to Tsuna who was desperately trying to pull him out of the house, "It's alright, Juudaime—this bastard needs to be taught his place" he gave Tsuna a gentle smile _. How DARE he — stepping into his Juudaime's house like he owned the place!_ And here he thought defeating him in the Ring Battle knocked him a peg or two!

Gokudera opened his mouth to tell him just that when Yamamoto, being the simpleton idiot he was, beat him to the race and casually walked up to Xanxus, "How are you doing Xanxus? You look nice!" he beamed good-naturedly.

The ramekins Xanxus was holding fell to the floor as he turned to face Yamamoto, his face looking positively murderous, "What did you just say?" he forced through clenched teeth. Tsuna shivered from head to toe while Yamamoto remained unfazed. _Hieeee…Xanxus probably thought Yamamoto was mocking him…! Hopefully, Yamamoto got the hint…_ Tsuna prayed.

As it was God's business to mock him these days, Yamamoto simply continued, "You look nice!" he smiled, "You know— you look good in casuals…I guess…I don't know" he laughed sheepishly. Xanxus just stared. Gokudera was already pulling Tsuna out of the house. " I just felt that you look pretty good in shorts than in formal pants!" Yamamoto laughed awkwardly.

The explosion of rage they were expecting never came. Seconds passed. Tsuna finally raised his head to observe the damage. _Silent assassination…maybe…_ But Xanxus was just standing their staring at the grinning Yamamoto as if he grew a second head. He blinked once and then twice. Finally, Tsuna and Gokudera watched in awe as a small but sure smile spread over Xanxus' usually sour face, just as he turned around to stir the sauce while mumbling a soft, " You don't look so bad yourself…"

 _This was not happening_ …Xanxus actually _SMILED_! Not some twisted ' _I-am gonna-kill-you-in-your-sleep_ ' smile…but a **_REAL_** smile! And just like that, Yamamoto plonked on the counter near the stove and proceeded to converse as if they were best buddies, and Xanxus for his part, was skilfully ignoring Yamamoto as he glided over his mother's kitc— _HALT RIGHT THERE!_

Tsuna's mom and dad— _where were they?_ And Dan-kun too? Tsuna felt an uncomfortable feeling settle in his gut. _Could Xanxus have kil—_ _ **NO!**_ Tsuna shook his head and glanced fearfully at Xanxus only for him to catch his eye. Brown eyes met deep crimson as both held each others gaze from across the room.

" _Ahem…_ " Gokudera awkwardly cleared his throat, "Umm…so where are Iem—"

"Don't know, don't care" Xanxus butted in curtly. Glancing at Tsuna, he sighed and added in a milder tone, " Iemitsu is probably where Nana-san is right now" he cracked some eggs into the pan, ignoring the way Tsuna's eyes widened at the mention of his mother's name. "We came here to find the house empty. Iemitsu, as much as he _SUCKS_ in anything requiring his brain, took a wild guess that she might be shopping." Placing a lid on the pan and tapping Yamamoto's hands away, Xanxus turned to regard the other two. "He told me to wait here and all but rushed in some random direction." He finished.

Tsuna let out a breath he didn't remember holding. His parents were safe… _what a relief_ …Mom probably wanted to cook something special since Dan-kun was coming over to stay...Tsuna's thoughts took an abrupt stop. _Wait_ …mom mentioned that Dan-kun was coming along with dad, which means…Tsuna's eyes widened as realization struck him faster that a thunderbolt. _Don't tell me Xanxus is…_

"Ara…Tsu-kun, why did you leave the door ajar, sweetie?" came the voice of his mother from the porch.

"He's probably excited to see me, aren't you my little Tsuna fish?" Iemitsu cooed in his overly exaggerated voice.

Tsuna heard someone snort behind him at the atrocious nickname but he didn't care. His entire focus was on his mother who had suddenly dropped the grocery bag she was holding and was staring at Xanxus, her eyes widening and brimming with tears and her hands going up to cover her mouth in an astonished gasp. Before anyone realized what was going on, Nana had reached Xanxus' side who, for his part looked just as stunned as the others, and pulled him into a _rib crushing_ hug!

Tsuna almost screamed in horror but held back when he noticed Xanxus' body stiffen in his mother's embrace. He looked confused, curious and… _happy?_ Tsuna had seen his fair share of strangeness in his life but the image of his mother gushing over Xanxus _clearly took the cake_. He noticed that Gokudera looked despondent, Yamamoto looked sympathetic and his dad was looking at the pair with a bittersweet smile.

"Dan-kun, you remember me, don't you?!" Nana held Xanxus' face in her palm and looked him in the eye. "You've grown so much?!" she practically beamed in happiness.

Xanxus, much to Tsuna's amusement threw a desperate look at his dad. Iemitsu snorted out loud before walking up to the pair, trying his best to coax his wife into loosening her grip around the squirming boy.

"Come now, Nana dear" Iemitsu smiled, "Xanxus-kun is probably tired. His eyelids are barely open. Why not have dinner and sent him off to bed?" he looked at Xanxus, "Besides, Xanxus volunteered to cook dinner for us tonight…Can't let that cool down now— _won't you agree?"_ Xanxus vigorously nodded his head.

"Alright. Tomorrow then…" Nana smiled tenderly at him before taking his had in hers' and pulling him towards Tsuna. "How about introducing yourself to Tsuna and his friends today, dear?"

" _Eeeeeeh?!"_ Tsuna and Gokudera started only for Xanxus to whip his head towards them, a threatening glare in his eyes.

"Dan-kun" his mother smiled, oblivious to the entire exchange, "This is Tsunayoshi-kun. Remember the baby you helped deliver? That's him" she chimed proudly.

Tsuna heard Gokudera choke beside him, giving him a disbelieving look. Tsuna mustered all his strength and smiled at Xanxus. He was surprised when Xanxus returned the smile and held out his hand to shake. Tsuna heard someone collapse behind him, but for the moment he didn't care. He took Xanxus' hand and almost gasped at the softness of it. _And here I thought assassin's hands were supposed to be rock hard…_ Tsuna couldn't help but hold on to his hand a bit longer.

"I'm Xanxus Daniel Vongola" Xanxus took his hand back, much to Tsuna's disappointment. _So THAT'S where the nickname 'Dan' came from_ , "It's a pleasure to finally meet you Tsunayoshi-kun. I look forward to our time together" _Was it just him or did his smile look a little vindictive?_

"T-t-the pleasure is all mine, Xanxus" Tsuna stammered out, but definitely not in fear. _What is wrong with me?!_ "These are my best friends" he nodded at Gokudera, who was passed out on the floor, "Hayato Gokudera" and then at Yamamoto, "Takeshi Yamamoto" who in turn beamed at him.

"Since that's officially over" Nana clapped her hands together, "Let's have dinner." She turned to regard Tsuna's companions, completely unfazed that one of them was on the floor mumbling something that suspiciously sounded like ' _What has the world come to'_ over and over again, "Won't you join us too?"

Gokudera took to muttering about unfinished business and a promise to join them next time. _He was, in no way, consuming what that maniac made_! And with that Gokudera made a rush to the door bemoaning about the unfairness of life on his poor Juudaime. Yamamoto too, politely declined that he had to catch a train to Karakura along with Hibari, and promised to join them in the future. Xanxus, however, surprised him by producing two boxes of food.

"Huh? Is this _really_ for me?" Yamamoto pointed at himself with a surprised smile.

"No! It's for your pet dog!" Xanxus snapped, then took a deep breath. _He was out of the Sawada's earshot…thank goodness…_ "Of course it's for you, brat!"

"Thank you!" Yamamoto beamed, taking the offered boxes, "See Tsuna, he's not that bad."

"Haha…yeah" Tsuna looked uncertain. Beside him, he could feel Xanxus radiating a dark aura of malicious intent.

"I don't want you to eat crap along the way and get yourself and by extension, Squalo sick" Xanxus sneered before clearing his throat. "He's finally taken out of stasis but the _BASTARDS_ drug had already done it's damage"

He looked pointedly at Yamamoto. "Take good care of him or I'm coming for your head" he pointed a warning finger at his face.

Tsuna watched on, holding his breath as the smile on Yamamoto's face shrunk till it was non-existent. "How is he now?" he breathed out.

Xanxus glared at him for a whole minute before he sighed and his shoulders hung in defeat. "He's in a coma. Hopefully he won't move into a vegetative state" he grimaced.

"Don't worry, Xanxus" Yamamoto spoke softly, his voice carrying a tone of unspoken threat. "I'll make sure he is safe" his eyes narrowed, "Even if it means I have to taint my hand with blood"

Tsuna gasped out loud and he felt Xanxus stiffen beside him. He heard Xanxus mumble a shocked ' _Good_ ' and offered a curt nod of his head.

"Take care, Tsuna!" Yamamoto smiled at him and then turned to Xanxus, "You too Xanxus, have fun!" And before Xanxus could so much as throttle him, Yamamoto ducked his head and power walked to the gate.

However, he stopped and gave them a sly smile. "Besides" Yamamoto threw over his shoulders all the while smiling at them charmingly "I could always wake Squalo up with a kiss!" he grinned before running for his life, leaving Xanxus and Tsuna gaping at where he previously stood.

Slowly, Xanxus turned towards Tsuna, " _DAFUQ IS WRONG WITH YOUR GUARDIANS?!"_

Tsuna, for the first time, bravely faced him head on, "Probably whatever's gotten into you guardians, I think…" Xanxus nodded his head in understanding. A few seconds passed in companionable silence.

"Don't get me wrong, Scum" Xanxus muttered, glancing at him from the corner of his eyes, "I still fucking hate you and will kill you if you bring Vongola down"

Tsuna sighed and gazed at the starry sky with an unexplainable feeling of deep contentment. The smell of delicious Italian food for dinner and a promise of mouth-watering panna cotta for dessert—all courtesy of Xanxus, his mom and dad chatting aimlessly in the kitchen and a fellow mafia comrade beside him, giving him the evil eye— nevertheless exhibiting great restrain for the sake of God-knows-what and the lack of training from a certain Sun Arcobaleno on a vacation along with Bianchi and the kids— what else could he ask for! _I really need to sort out things with my dad…I wonder what he threatened to ma_ ke _Xanxus behave…_ Tsuna sweat dropped.

And for the second time that day, Tsuna threw caution to the window and took hold of Xanxus' soft hands, pulling him towards the table, his heart warm and his Will pulsating in pleasure when he felt Xanxus' palm curl into his own. Tsuna smiled. If this was a dream, then Tsuna didn't mind sleeping a little longer.

* * *

 **Thank you so much for the support!**

 **R &R everyone! Than**k **you for your time! 3**


	7. Iemitsu explains it all

**_A.N:_** Thank you so much for stopping by and I appreciate **_seryuTammi_** and my _anonymous guest_ for your lovely review and all those readers who have placed my story in their favourites and alerts. Sweet kisses! 3

 ** _WARNINGS:_** Dark past, a little gore and mentions of CP.

 ** _Disclaimer:_** I do not own the familiar characters.

* * *

"Dan-kun, you have to tell me where you learned to cook like this!" Nana beamed from her seat beside Iemitsu; "These taste absolutely divine, right Tsu-kun?" she smiled expectantly at him.

Tsuna, who had the unfortunate pleasure of sitting beside a passive- aggressive Xanxus— well…at least to him, took a huge bite of the delicious eggs in purgatory and smiled back at his mother. He didn't even have to hesitate to answer. The food was amazing and so was the dessert that followed. As Tsuna dug happily into his ramekin of chocolate panna cotta, he took a moment to revaluate his once arch-nemesis. Who would have thought that Xanxus could cook this good?! No—scratch that! Who would have thought Xanxus knew anything besides burning things to crisp. Another note to add to his growing list of things he had to figure out about the Vongola Family—the mystery of Xanxus, Tsuna pondered.

"Nana dear, I think you should let the child rest now" Iemitsu smiled sweetly at his wife, who was busy nagging Xanxus about one thing or the other, "It's already past his bed time. He is usually asleep by now, right?" Tsuna noticed his dad casting a meaningful look at Xanxus. **_Another mystery._** The way his dad kept calling Xanxus as either child or boy…sounded as if he'd known him for years!

"Ah! By the by, Dan-kun, your room isn't ready yet" his mom smiled sheepishly, "I promise to get it done by the end of next week" she walked over to Xanxus and held his hands, "I hope you don't mind rooming with my Tsu-kun!"

Tsuna choked on his bite while Iemitsu snorted. A deadly silence engulfed the room, the chatter of his mom sounded distant as Tsuna felt dread take over him. _Surely his mother didn't suggest that he share his room with Xanxus, right?_ Tsuna could hear the church bells ringing, his mother crying over his grave as the entire Varia congratulated a smug Xanxu—

"Is it alright, Tsu-kun?" his mom's sweet voice broke him out of his one-way trip to hysteria. Tsuna looked past his mother to notice Xanxus looking pointedly at him. _Was that a pout?_

"Tsu-kun?" he glanced back at his mother. Noticing both his parents giving him concerned looks; Tsuna cleared his throat and gave his mom a reassuring smile, "If it's okay with him…" Tsuna gave a shy smile, "I don't mind at all…"

"Well Xanxus…?" he heard his dad enquire Xanxus. Tsuna felt waves of killing intent ooze out of his dad as he gave Xanxus a tight-lipped smile. He gaped at his dad. _It's not like he's giving him a choice…_

Miraculously, Xanxus agreed and politely asked Tsuna to lead the way, all the while wishing his mom and dad, a pleasant night. Even more surprising was when his mom walked over to Xanxus and gave him a peck on his forehead, letting him know that he could always call her if he had nightmares. _Nightmares? Really…?!_ Tsuna gave his mom a wry look. _Xanxus is an epitome of living nightmare…if only his mom knew…_

His room—or what used to be his room—seemed to have a complete makeover, the most obvious being the lack of resident dust bunnies. Besides the addition of a large collapsible wardrobe, the walls were painted a rich tangerine and the furniture, a rich mahogany. Two king-size beds were lined against the wall on either side of the room beside which two mahogany study tables and a pair of high-seated chairs were placed. A solid-wood side table stood by the window between the two beds on which an orange shaded table lamp stood, dully illuminating the room. All in all, the room looked fantastic!

"Ano…" Tsuna turned towards Xanxus, only to find him walk over to the bed on the extreme right and plopping on it. Tsuna decided to take the hit and sat meekly on the bed to his left. He had no homework to do and was tired to the bone but Tsuna felt a little apprehensive of falling asleep before Xanxus.

"Eto…Xanxus…" Tsuna gulped and tried to calm his frazzled nerves, "How are you?" he squeaked. _Real smooth, Tsuna!_ He felt like kicking himself. Here he was making a fool out of himself in front of Xanxus who for his part turned towards Tsuna and sat cross-legged on his bed.

"Listen scum…" Xanxus sneered at him, "Unless you want me to make a permanent imprint of you on the wall, I suggest you man up for the sake of the Family." He looked at Tsuna from head to toe, "God knows why that crazy old geezer chose you, I mean…" Xanxus threw up his hand in exasperation, "Even that Horse would be a better choice—when he's not tripping and killing everyone within a mile radius due to his inhuman clumsiness!" he spat.

Tsuna felt himself shrink and feeling more dame than before under Xanxus' penetrating glare. Luckily, Xanxus' rant was cut short by a knock on the door.

"Giving Tsuna a hard time, are we?" Iemitsu walked in with a glass of water and a small box. Before Xanxus could reply and get into trouble, Tsuna butted in and shook his head.

"We were just talking" Tsuna narrowed his eyes at his dad, "Don't you know it's impolite to eavesdrop, Tou-san?" He heard Xanxus let out a soft breath. _Was he scared of his dad or something?_

"I was just checking on you two" Iemitsu smiled easily and sat down beside Xanxus, "Now…" he turned towards Xanxus and pulled out something that looked like a prescription note from his pocket. Tsuna gaped at his dad as Iemitsu popped half a dozen pills from the box onto Xanxus' hand and gave him the glass of water, "Drink up, two at a time, take deep breaths and try not to puke"

Tsuna saw Xanxus almost retch on the last two and struggle with the cap of syrup. _Why does he take so many medicines? Add to ever-growing list…_ He spotted his dad whispering something into Xanxus' ear and then with a gentle pat to his head, turning towards him with an innocent smile.

"If you don't mind, Tsuna…" he smiled at Tsuna and gestured towards the door.

"Not at all…" Tsuna smiled wryly. _He had a few questions on his own…_

"So…" Tsuna started, once they were outside, "Care to tell me why you suddenly decided that it was such a good idea to bring Xanxus here while he is still plotting 101 WAYS TO MURDER ME?!" Tsuna felt anger boil within him, "Didn't you _ever_ think this would harm Kaa-san or the kids?!"

"Tsuna…" his dad started tiredly, "Xanxus would never hurt Nana. Besides your Kaa-san already knows him well…"

"And how is that?" Tsuna tapped his foot impatiently. This man did not deserve his sympathy…

"Well, where should I start…?" Iemitsu mused, "When Xanxus was adopted at the tender age of six, and there were so many threats to the Vongola, especially when word got out that he possessed the unique Flame of Secondo"

"A unique Flame?" Tsuna looked at him curiously.

"Yes…the Flame of Wrath" his dad replied gravely. Tsuna nodded his head in understanding and gestured for his dad to continue.

"It took months for the whole Family to accept Xanxus. Xanxus, for his part, was quite timid back then" he heard Tsuna choke, "Hard to believe, I know…" Iemitsu snorted, "He still is, if you take your time to observe him once in a while…" he smiled endearingly at Tsuna.

Sighing, Iemitsu continued in a lazy stroll, "I used to bring him here often. Nana loved him and nurtured him as if he were her own" he smiled fondly, "We hoped the conflicts between the Families would settle down and it did…but at a great expense" Iemitsu grimaced. "Xanxus lost his two brothers who were the world to him. Nono tried his best on peaceful negotiations with the other Families and in his hectic schedule, failed to see his withdrawn son and his conflicts. Xanxus went as far as to attempt suicide for his dad to notice him."

Tsuna felt his Will moan in agony as Iemitsu took in a shuddering breath. "And then…when his third and most loved brother died, Xanxus snapped" Iemitsu bowed his head in sorrow. "He lost control of his Flame and wrecked brutal carnage. A month later, Xanxus was a changed boy. He locked himself in the Varia headquarters and proclaimed himself as a Decimo candidate. The rumours that it was him who killed his brothers for the title drove him into further insanity. He was sixteen when he attempted the coup." Tsuna gasped. _Sixteen?! Then the rest of the Varia must have been…?_

"A lot of incidents surrounding the Cradle Affair are still a puzzle which is being looked into now." Iemitsu turned to look at Tsuna, "The things we discovered so far are quite…disturbing…"

Tsuna looked at his dad in anticipation. "Xanxus never wanted to become the Decimo, Tsuna…"

"WHAT?!" Tsuna exclaimed in shock. _This…he did not expect something like his…._

"Rather…he was trying use the title of Decimo to draw someone, a particular Family to be exact, towards him…" Iemitsu whispered under the dim light of the hallway, "Someone whom he believes to have murdered his brothers…"

"Do-does it mean they are after me now?" Tsuna squeaked out. _He was being hunted down, Hieeeeeee….!_

"No, Tsuna" his dad smiled at him. "They are after a particular person who exhibits defined characteristics of their Family: Bold, Murderous, Savage, a lust for war and high intelligence—which thankfully does not describe you" _Did his dad even realise that he's just insulted him…_

"So…what's this Family anyway?" Tsuna asked casually. _Never thought being Dame had its perks…_

Iemitsu shook his head. "I can't tell you their name, Tsuna…At least, not now. Even knowing their name has consequences. Their endless prodding stopped at the news of the death of the three brothers and the imprisonment of Xanxus for eight years" _Don't tell me…"_ However…the Ring Conflict has drawn their attention back to the Family. They are looking for Nono's heir…"

"But…why? What do they want with the head of the Vongola and didn't you tell me they were not after me?!" Tsuna urged him to continue. _No, no, no…he did not want to die…period._

"This Family is known for their war craft, Tsuna. They fight and kill for the thrill. Once they die, they become visible spectres. However, even they have very low life expectancy. After a few years, the spectres disappear" Tsuna couldn't help but smile at this. "But…" his dad continued, making his smile drop, "they have found a way around this…" he muttered.

"The most distinguishing trait of the Family is their ocular power—The Scarlet Eye..." he whispered softly. "Eyes that are capable of seeing and sensing supernatural entities, eyes that reflects the owners' intense grief or joy by beaming like the centre of the sun's core….If these eyes were to be obtained by the spectres, they would be brought back to life with their powers exponentially multiplied." Iemitsu scowled in disgust. "The Family elders killed their own young ones to obtain these valuable eyes in their thirst for power —especially the royal bloodline."

"What does that have to do anything with the Vongola?" Tsuna asked, visibly disturbed by the revelation.

"Twenty four years ago, the last child of the Family's royal bloodline went missing, the very day after his birth. Reports say that the king killed his son but news came out that the queen had the child taken away. The ocular ability of the royal bloodline, especially the young ones, is almost boundless. The Family has been searching for the child ever since."

"So, let me get this straight…A family of blood thirsty murders are searching for their son so they could take his eyes?!" Tsuna wanted to puke! _Poor child…to have his eyes gor—No!_ Tsuna shook his head.

"Another peculiarity is their Flame which greatly resembles our Dying Will" Iemitsu walked up to the open balcony.

"So that's why they came over to the Vongola!" Tsuna chimed in understanding, "They must have thought one of the Ninth's sons to be their son! But their assumption was proved wrong after their demise and so they quit their search"

"Yes…and no…" Iemitsu grimaced.

"The Vongola was left undisturbed before Xanxus was adopted into the Family—Xanxus, whose Dying Will was similar to our own" Tsuna felt dread engulf him as Iemitsu continued in a grim tone, "Xanxus, whose eyes blazes scarlet when he is bubbling with happiness or struck with unexplainable sorrow. Xanxus, who always gets himself drunk so that he didn't have to 'see or listen to the dead' as he puts it mildly. Xanxus, who was frozen for eight years, is twenty four now… "

"Xanxus…" Tsuna muttered in stupefied fear, "It's him…It's him they are out to kill... "

"He does not know any of this, Tsuna" Iemitsu sadly shook his head, "If he did, then he would go after them and an all-out war would break between the Families. Vongola does not stand a chance. We are hiding Xanxus within the Italian mafia…not exposing him to the World mafia yet…"

"World mafia?" Tsuna enquired.

"I'll take the both of you to CEDEF headquarters tomorrow" Iemitsu smiled, "For now, don't tell any of these to the child…It was also said that knowing one's Family heritage would bring out their buried subconscious characteristics. It will become harder to hide him then"

"Ano…? Why do you call him that? And did you threaten Xanxus or something?" Tsuna asked, desperate to change the topic, anything to calm his mind!

Iemitsu laughed out loud. "He _is_ a child. He hasn't physically aged for eight years so technically he's is still a child to me and to be honest, I don't think he's aged _mentally_ too" Iemitsu grinned. "But what makes you think I terrorized him, Tsuna?"

"Well, for starters…" Tsuna replied lamely, "I am _alive_ and the house is intact for once…He's better behaved than Lambo will ever be…So , what is it?"

"Well…If you must know…" Iemitsu grinned impishly at him, "I threatened to spank him if he gets out of line!"

" ** _WHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT?!"_** Tsuna promptly fainted.

* * *

Tsuna peered outside the window, wondering what had woken him up in the middle of the night—He glanced at the clock—3 A.M in the morning. He sighed, dragging his sleep deprived body back to bed. Letting out a jaw-breaking yawn, Tsuna threw himself on his soft bed and squirmed around, trying to find a cosy position. After fifteen minutes of thrashing around, he gave up any chance of getting some sleep and frowned at the darkened ceiling.

"Maa…" Tsuna mused out loud, "Why can't I sleep?!" he moaned, scratching his messy hair in agitation. _Of course he knew why he couldn't sleep—His Will was practically trembling with a sense of despair, as if he missed something very important._

"What do I have to do to turn my own intuition off?" Tsuna wondered lamely. If only there was a convenient way to summon his Will as he pleased without the aid of Reborn or the pill. Tsuna imagined a chibi version of himself playing with a switch marked as the Will. _Off, on, off on—_ Tsuna sweat dropped. _I am definitely losing my mind…_

A soft grunt from the bed beside him stopped Tsuna from his meaningless assessment of his already lost sanity. Tsuna stiffened and audibly gulped, praying to whatever deity out there that he didn't accidently wake up his notorious roommate. He heard the rustle of the crisp sheet and through the dark he could make out the silhouette of his said roommate pulling the sheets over his head, murmuring something unintelligible under his breath. Tsuna took a moment to test the water before letting out a soft sigh and pulled his own sheet over his head, recalling the conversation he had with his dad after dinner.

 _So…The Ninth made me candidate so that this 'Mystery Family's' attention would be diverted from Xanxus…_ Tsuna mused lazily. _And since I was too dame, they never took me into consideration to be the one they were loo_ king for _…Great…_ His Will was still restless, almost as if it was on guard. Tsuna became instantly alert when a soft whisper reached his ears.

"Freddy-nii…" he heard Xanxus breath out in a clearly pained moan. He felt his Will yearning to comfort him. _Oh well…_ Finally, in what seemed to be eternity, Tsuna made up his mind and crossed the room towards Xanxus' bed.

"Xanxus…" he whispered softly. However, he became spellbound by the sight before him.

* * *

 **My…now what could that be? O_O**

 **R &R everyone! Thank you for the read!**


	8. Out of the mist comes

**_A.N:_** Thank you so much for stopping by. I gotta thank **_stellacisem_** ** _,_** **_D C JoKeR H S_** and **_Faery66_** for waking me up from my slumber with your reviews 3.Thanks to all those lovely readers who have placed my story in their favourites and alerts.

 ** _WARNINGS:_** Dark themes. (little intimate) angst.

 ** _Disclaimer:_** I do not own the familiar characters.

Tsuna blinked and rubbed his eyes. It was still there, hovering near Xanxus' bed. He blinked again, desperately hoping that his eyes were deceiving him. But the spectral being was still there, its attention solely focused on Xanxus—who, for his part was mumbling incoherently in his sleep. Tsuna panicked when he saw the strange being reach out a silvery hand towards Xanxus.

"Don't touch him!" Tsuna hissed, surprising himself and the creature. _Heeey…I am actually courageous!_ He saw the being turn its hollow sockets towards him. _Hiiiiieeeeeee….! Maybe I am not so courageous after all…_ Tsuna gulped and forced down the urge to wet his pants. _How long was this thing just standing here while I was blissfully asleep?!_

He felt his Will pulsing madly and his intuition screaming at him to bolt out of the vicinity with Xanxus.

"W-W-Who a-are yo-you?" Tsuna managed to stammer out.

"Ara…?! I am surprised you could see me, human" the being smiled at him, its voice as cold as the Arctic frost. Tsuna felt a sense of dread growing in the pit of his stomach as he feared that this being could be someone from the Family hunting down Xanxus. _Maybe I should scream for Dad…_

The spectral being, from Tsuna's observation, looked and sounded like Mukuro. Perhaps a little taller in stature and a little more sinister in voice. Tsuna felt the being scrutinize him from head to toe as he subtly tried to inch towards the door. He felt strangely naked and very much exposed.

Tsuna stiffened when he heard a pained whimper leave Xanxus' lips. He saw the spectre moving over to touch Xanxus again. _Now was his chance!_

He visible shivered when he heard the being's macabre laughter, "Calling Iemitsu for help isn't going to help Tsunayoshi~" it practically purred out in a voice filled with malicious intent, "But if you insist on presenting me your father's soul, then by all means…" it gestured elegantly towards the door.

 _How did he…?_ Tsuna abruptly stopped his train of thoughts when he noticed Xanxus grip the mattress in a death grip. "Freddy-nii…I'm so s-sorry" Tsuna felt more than hear the pain behind Xanxus' rant and the sudden increase in the room's temperature. He saw the creature sit beside Xanxus and place its hands on his trembling frame.

"Such complex mind—so intricate and tender" it drawled out in a sickeningly sweet voice that sent chills down Tsuna's spine. "So raw and untouched" it sang, delicately tracing Xanxus' sun-kissed hips under his sweat-drenched tank top.

Tsuna began to panic when he saw the creature bent towards Xanxus' face, its large hands holding Xanxus down as he began to thrash in his sleep. "His pain—so delicious and inviting…" it mumbled against his throat, "Like nectar— ** _ALL MINE_** …" it rasped in a voice that sounded dreadfully old—no scratch that—ancient and evil!

And suddenly, the being was no more a spectre but a physical being with long locks of raven hair—perhaps longer than Squalo's— pulled into a low ponytail. Long strips of uneven bangs framed a sharp, angular face, a thin rosy lip and a pair of green catlike eyes. He must be eight-foot tall from the looks of it. The moonlight lit his already pale skin with a supernatural glow in complement with his dark double-breasted trench coat.

Tsuna felt his Will drawing him back to reality and realised he'd been trapped in an illusion for a while. He turned just in time to see the monster baring Xanxus' pulse point against its mouth, sharp glistering white fangs peeking out from under its lips.

"LET HIM GO!" Tsuna practically screamed as he all but threw himself at the being. His Will roared with a sense of protectiveness and possessiveness like he never felt before.

Several things happened all at once. A blinding light appeared between Xanxus and the creature, sending it flying against the wall. Tsuna dived at sonic speed and managed to catch Xanxus' prone form before he hit the ground from the impact of the throw. He felt a heavy fog, a cloud of negativity, clear away and out of nowhere, he heard a soft whisper of his name. Tsuna blinked in confusion as he felt his panic melt of him and a sense of security hit him in waves.

He gripped Xanxus close to him as he saw a peculiar mist taking form in his room, between him and the savage beast. _No! Not another one!_ The mist morphed to form a portal and out of it stepped…

"Mukuro…" Tsuna breathed out in relief. However, Mukuro had eyes for only one person at the moment.

"Can't have you having all the fun now, can we?" Tsuna noticed that Mukuro lacked his usual demeanour. In fact, he looked downright pissed! Tsuna gulped. _This can't be a good sign…_ He saw Mukuro tap his trident on the floor trice and immediately he felt he could breathe easier.

"This whole house had been surrounded by illusionary mist" Mukuro gave Tsuna a sidelong glance, "Your father should be able to wake up now" he mused. Not a minute too soon, Iemitsu burst into the room, his Will already active.

"Tsuna!" Iemitsu rushed to his son's side, checking him top to bottom for injuries, "Are you alright?!" he practically wailed. Tsuna vaguely noted Mukuro glaring down at the creature, his trident posed for attack if needed.

"I am alright but Xanxus…"

"Is still under an illusionary spell" Mukuro finished for him. He then promptly growled at the crouched beast, "Have you no shame attacking a defenceless child, Ariana?" Mukuro uncharacteristically sneered in disgust. _Ariana?_ _So, the creature's name is Ariana…How does Mukuro know him?_

"I came here to claim what is rightfully mine, Rokudo" Ariana sneered back just as vehemently, "And I will have him no matter what" And with that final threat, Ariana disappeared in a gust of mist and mayhem. A long pause stretched between the room's occupants and no one moved a muscle.

"Unless Xanxus has a pure conscience, he'll be an easy target for manipulation" Mukuro spoke softly, "Someone has to force him to spill his guts out…"

"Ano…who is he Mukuro?" Tsuna asked back cautiously, never letting go of Xanxus even when Iemitsu tried to pry him from his arms.

Mukuro blinked dubiously at Tsuna as if to say 'you really don't know?' and then looked at Iemitsu. "Don't you know anything about the World Mafia?" he asked lamely.

Before Tsuna could speak, Iemitsu sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, "I was going to explain about that to Tsuna at the CEDEF tomorrow" Iemitsu then looked up at the wall clock and muttered a soft 'today' before fixing his eyes back on Mukuro. "Thank you Rokudo Mukuro. I didn't even feel a speck of Ariana's Mist Flames." He grimaced. "If it wasn't for you, things would have turned rather unpleasant."

Mukuro merely nodded before addressing Tsuna. "Put him to bed. He's still under the influence of Ariana's Flame. I'll make sure to keep a chec—"

The room's occupants suddenly tensed when they felt a sharp rise in temperature. _Xanxus…_ Tsuna suddenly remembered that he was still clinging to a delusional Xanxus. He glanced down just in time to see Xanxus' lashes flutter open to reveal two large burning orbs. _It's like gazing into a pair of garnet gemstones…!_ Tsuna stared back, wonderstruck.

He saw Xanxus blink his eyes rapidly, observing Tsuna with hazy eyes. Frankly, Tsuna felt himself a little self-conscious under the searching gaze.

"Umm…Xanxus…" he gave a rather shaky smile. He noticed his father approaching them and Mukuro studying them with an air of curiosity.

"Come on, Xanxus, let's put you to bed" Iemitsu offered his hand to Xanxus who still sat snug in Tsuna's embrace.

"Mitsu-san…?" he saw his dad freeze on spot, his eyes widening to the size of saucers. Before Tsuna could so much as comment on the nickname, Xanxus abruptly turned curious eyes towards him.

Tsuna began to sweat profusely. Xanxus in his right mind was always a catastrophe. He feared to imagine what a clearly disturbed Xanxus would do. _This is it, the apocalypse…_ Tsuna mentally sang.

Suddenly, Tsuna felt a pair of strong but soft hands wrap around his neck and a warp body press against his own. Tsuna could only describe it as a bear hug.

"FREDDY-NII!" Xanxus practically squealed, nuzzling his head affectionately under Tsuna's chin. "You came back! You really came back!" he wailed, "I was so worried…I missed you so much, nii-san!"

 ** _Hiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee….!_** Tsuna panicked, his arms flailing out in pure horror. There was a noticeable slur in his voice that alerted Tsuna to not freak out. Taking deep breaths, Tsuna tried to calm himself down. He turned around to note his dad gaping at him like a fool and Mukuro literally rolling on the floor, laughing his ass off.

He sighed and turned back to face Xanxus with the very intention of telling him that he was under a delusion spell and it was best if he slept it out. The words died on the tip of his tongue when his eyes met Xanxus'.

Tsuna, never in a million years imagined that the cold and condensing eyes of Xanxus could express such love and adoration. He could practically feel hero-worship and delight oozing through every fibre of his being. "Nii-san…" Xanxus mumbled softly. _Do little white lies count as a sin?_

With his mind made up, Tsuna wrapped his arms around Xanxus' waist and hefted him up towards the bed. _He's surprisingly light for his age…_ Tsuna mused. He could feel the eyes of both his dad and Mukuro on him but he dutifully ignored them for the minute. Pulling the covers back, Tsuna tenderly laid Xanxus on the soft mattress before tucking him firmly with a soft quilt.

"Nii-san is sorry he made Xanxus worry" Tsuna smiled softly at Xanxus, "Nii-san was busy but you and I can talk tomorrow as long as we want, okay?"

"Okay…just…d-don't leave…m-me…" Xanxus smiled sleepily back at him, his body language so open and trusting that Tsuna began to feel traces of resentment in his heart at Federico. _No, this is so wrong…! Get a grip, Tsuna!_ He mentally berated himself.

Tsuna wordlessly sat beside Xanxus till he felt assured that Xanxus was safely into the land of nod. Standing up, Tsuna hesitantly ran a hand through Xanxus' hair before facing the room's silent observers. However, the look of pride and joy on his dad's face and approval on Mukuro's caught him off guard.

"Tou-san?" Tsuna uttered, unsure. His dad simply shook his head before whispering a soft goodnight and walked out of the room.

"I hate to admit but…" he heard Mukuro mutter in something akin to _awe?_ "You are a great human Sawada Tsunayoshi, kufufufu~" With a final glance towards Xanxus, Mukuro disappeared in his signature mist.

Tsuna sighed and looked at the clock. It was near 5 A.M. Tsuna shook his head and smiled. It would be ten years later that Tsuna would relish this memory with fondness and nostalgia.

"Tsunayoshi-kun…"

"Hmm…?"

"You don't have to keep checking on me every nanosecond; I am perfectly nightmare-free for the night"

"One can never be too careful" Tsuna smiled lazily.

"Paranoid is more like it" the voice grumbled back. Tsuna smirked, "Well, it wasn't me who wanted to be tucked in every night ten years ago when he—"

"Alright, alright! Sheesh, I took the meds okay?!" A tranquil silence fell upon them, disturbed by the sound of the crickets and the crackling of the camp fire. Tsuna took a deep breath and peered at the occupied sleeping bag to the tent's left.

"Xanxus…"

"Yes, Tsunayoshi-kun?"

"Take care of yourself, alright?"

Tsuna heard some shuffling before a familiar ebony haired male with sleepy crimson eyes peeked out of his sleeping bag. "I don't think that would be necessary when you are around, Tsunayoshi-kun" Xanxus addressed him, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. However, he became wide alert when he noted Tsuna's crest-fallen face.

"Is something the matter?" Xanxus sat up on his sleeping bag, "Did the raid on Millefio—"

"It's nothing" Tsuna smiled, walking up to Xanxus and kneeled beside him, "Just promise me you won't do anything rash" Tsuna asked again, his voice strangely hoarse.

Xanxus blinked and slowly nodded his head. "Alright, I promise not to pull a Ryohei" He squeaked when Tsuna pulled him into a tight hug.

"Tsuna…?" Xanxus blinked, puzzled by Tsuna's sudden need for PDA. _Not that it's rare these days though…He is definitely hiding something._ He heard Tsuna sigh softly and release him.

"Get some sleep" Tsuna ruffled his hair affectionately and climbed to his feet. "I'll see you later" he smiled as he closed the tent's flap leaving a confused Xanxus behind.

Chewing on his bottom lip in restrained grief, Tsuna flopped down across Hibari by the fire. He felt his Cloud's questioning eyes on him.

"I-I couldn't tell him…" Tsuna choked out, "I just couldn't…not when he trusts me so much…I can't do it" he moaned miserably.

"Did you at least tell him abo—"Hibari blinked at the sudden music filling their campsite and automatically looked at his bag. Tsuna wordless stood up, "Looks like Squalo changed your ringtone again but 'Catch you, catch me', really?"

Hibari glared at him before snatching the offered device and pressed none too gently on the attend button. The lens of the device flared to life and projected the face of a very smug-looking Squalo. "Voi~"

"Squalo, should you be out of bed right now?" Hibari enquired gruffly, noting the time in his watch.

"Relax…" Squalo drawled out, "I can perfectly take care of myself, Mother…" the Varia Rain smiled teasingly but stopped on noticing Hibari's downcast eyes, "Voi! I am perfectly safe here!"

Hibari grunted softly. "Isn't the herbivore with you?" He frowned when he saw Squalo's smile disappear. _God! Don't tell me…_

"I don't know when he left the house but Tsuyoshi-san told me it's been a few hours. He left without a word…" Hibari clearly read through the unspoken 'to me'. _That bastard…how dare he neglect informing Squalo…!_

"He's probably heading back to Italy. You should meet him in a few hours" Squalo smiled and then promptly turned to address someone standing behind. Hibari took the time to ponder over Yamamoto's decision in leaving Squalo alone in the main base in Japan. He collected his thoughts just as Squalo turned towards him with a blinding grin, "Mukuro-kun conveys his love to Hiba-kun~" Squalo practically giggled.

Before Hibari could express his murderous thoughts on said vermin, Squalo raised a hand in mock surrender, "Just kidding…" the assassin grinned bashfully. "He wants to assure you that he's with me and that you need not worry much…Also…" Squalo sobered up before adding, "Don't be too hard on yourself and Tsunayoshi, Hibari-kun. Find some time to drop by…"

Hibari nodded before letting a soft smile drift across his face. "Call me if you need me, alright?"

"Voi!" Squalo beamed, "I miss you already! Tell Takes—ah…Yamamoto…to be safe and remind Xanxus to take his medicines. Be seeing you! Voi!" Hibari shook his head as he pocketed his phone. He swore he heard a distant kufufu-ing.

"So…Yamamoto didn't tell Squalo too…" he heard Tsuna mutter out, clearly depressed by the whole ordeal. Hibari sighed and sat back, his mood getting worse by the minute. Their plan has got to work! But Hibari couldn't help but feel that something grave was looming over the horizon.

 **And that's all for today!**

 **R &R everyone! Than**k **you for your time! 3**


	9. White lies hurts no one

**_A.N:_** Thank you so much for stopping by. I gotta thank **_stellacisem_** ** _,_** **_D C JoKeR H S_** and **_Faery66_** for waking me up from my slumber with your reviews and a huge thanks all those lovely readers who have placed my story in their favourites and alerts. I really apologize for the long wait and I appreciate your patience with me. 3 3

 ** _WARNINGS:_** Mentions of blood, bad language and dry history.

 ** _Disclaimer:_** I do not own the familiar characters.

* * *

"Squalo…how long are you gonna keep staring at the transmission screen?"

Squalo resisted the urge to outright flinch. It didn't take a genius to figure out the heavy tone of disapproval in Ryohei's voice. It baffled Squalo how Ryohei would sometimes completely switch over from his brash, loud-mouth and fiery personality to this cool and level-headed adult capable of crushing bones with his bare hands. Squalo internally shivered.

"Back so soon?" Squalo easily smiled at the Sun Guardian. "Is Basil with you? He was supposed to help me with the dishes today"

"Why did you lie to Hibari, Squalo?"

Squalo sighed for what seemed like the umpteenth time in an hour. "It had to be done. He'd worry himself to death if he finds out that I was all alone in the base since morning and the last thing I want is him sprouting grey hairs." The Varia Rain smiled, walking past Ryohei towards the hallway. "Not that he would look any less hot though. Besides, he would kill Yamamoto and as much as I am disappointed in him for leaving without a word, I still lo—Ah! "

Squalo practically squeaked as a strong tremor shook the entire base, shattering the monitors and the lights. "What in the seven spheres of hell is going on?" Squalo panicked, clutching firmly to the door's frame.

"I'm not sure…" Ryohei growled out, trying to grab his phone annoyingly ringing in his pocket. And suddenly, the tremor stopped only to be followed by a loud bang from somewhere in the upper level of the base.

"What was that…?" Squalo enquired Ryohei who was literally crushing the phone in his sweaty palms, his face turning paler by the minute.

"Ryohei…"

"Squalo…I want you to unlock the emergency shaft and run away as far as you can while I help the others evacuate" Ryohei spoke grimly, dragging Squalo hastily through the hallway towards the said shaft.

"But what happ—"

"The White Spell has raided the northern base while the East Wing of our main base is under attack by a Funeral Wreath. I have to help the—"

"I can help too!" Squalo pushed away from Ryohei, "I'm no damsel in distress and don't you forget that I used to be the Sword Emperor" Squalo huffed up, annoyed.

"Squalo, please…" Ryohei practically begged, "There is a possibility of them hacking the Vongola achieves. They could be after you!"

"Fine!" Squalo gritted out in frustration, "But you better come back in one piece or I am setting your trophies on fire!"

Ryohei smiled indulgently and ruffled the smooth tresses of his agitated companion as a soft apology. "I promise…"

"See you at Tsuyoshi's!" Squalo gave him a quick hug before turning around to unlock the latched. Only when Ryohei's silhouette disappeared down the hallway did Squalo turn around to look back.

"You have a long way to go in sensing Flames, Ryohei-kun. The one in our East Wing is definitely a fake" Squalo grimaced, "The real Funeral Wreath is near Namimori and judging from the intensity of the Flame, I'm going to have a tough battle"

Squalo did feel bad lying to Mukuro, Hibari and Ryohei, all in a day! _I can't have them worry over me all the time...Besides, a white lie couldn't hurt anyone..._ Squalo smiled.

After carefully and tenderly pocketing the engagement ring that had greeted the Varia Rain by the side table in the morning, Squalo took the gruelling task of climbing the steep rusty ladder of the shaft in a pair of high-heeled leather boots.

* * *

"Besides the rich history of the Vongola, there were several Mafia Families a few decades older than ours." Iemitsu read softly from a book ten times the size of Tsuna's head. Tsuna sweat dropped. _Didn't his dad realize that he absolutely sucked at history? Wait! He actually sucked at everything…Oh well…_

"And then there was the Italian Mafia where the…" Iemitsu droned on, completely oblivious of his son's glazed over eyes. Tsuna sighed. His dad was a lost cause. His eyes travelled towards the opposite table, taking in the sight of Xanxus reading vigorously through an old journal. _At least someone's feeling energetic._ Tsuna smiled lazily reminiscing on how Xanxus had awkwardly inched up to him in the morning, trying to nonchalantly enquire if Tsuna stayed awake the night before. _He clearly knows something happened…_

Reminiscing about last night's events brought an odd sense of satisfaction and accomplishment in Tsuna. He had done the right thing and had earned his Will's pleasure, his Dad's pride and strangely Mukuro's approval.

"Stop throwing daggers at my back, ya worthless scumbag…" he heard the gruff voice of Xanxus drawl out.

"IT'S DYNAMITE NOT DAGGERS! DYNAMITE! I do not throw knives like that bastard, DAMMIT!" came the near hysterical voice of his Storm Guardian.

Tsuna sighed and dropped his forehead on the table with a loud thud. Gokudera had visited them in the morning with a note from their homeroom teacher. Apparently, his teacher thought that a few classes in Math during the holidays along with the other low scorers would help his no-good self for the next year. His mother had beamed at the teacher's generosity; his father had hummed softly as an approval while Xanxus proceeded to snicker in his bowl of cereal all the while ignoring a fuming Gokudera behind his chair. Tsuna did appreciate his teacher's intention but anymore of him destroying the theorems more than he already had was bound to rise Pythagoras from his grave, compass and all. But the conversation after that had slowly slipped towards disaster.

 ** _FLASH!_**

"Juudaime! You don't have to necessarily go if you don't want to" Gokudera smiled pleasingly at him, "I could talk to the teacher in letting me teach you." Tsuna sweat dropped. The said teacher despised Gokudera's guts and always tried to land him in hot water.

"I think it's best if we let the teacher handle this" Nana smiled, "You don't have to use your vacation time on Tsu-kun"

"It's no prob—"Gokudera began only to be interrupted by Xanxus.

"Nana-san's right, Hayato-kun" Xanxus purred vindictively, "It wouldn't do well if you keep solving Tsunayoshi-kun's problems for him. Give him a chance to grow" Tsuna didn't miss the softly muttered _some limbs_ and Xanxus averting his gaze from his dad.

"Speaking of schools…" Nana turned her attention towards Xanxus, "You must be in the same grade as Tsu-kun. When do your classes start, Dan-kun?" Tsuna heard Xanxus choke beside him while his dad looked panicked.

"Umm…He was home tutored" Iemitsu spoke out throwing a tentative glance at Xanxus who was busy trying to catch his breath.

"Was?" Nana looked curiously at his dad.

"Well…he was home tutored until...you know, until _that_ accident . Remember the one we spoke about yesterday night?" his dad whispered cautiously.

Tsuna gave him a blank look wondering what kinda rubbish his dad had fed his mom about Xanxus. If his mom had been taking care of Xanxus before, she must have questioned his dad about the scars. _Wonder what unbelievable story he came up with this time…_ Tsuna thought wryly.

"Well, that won't do at all…" Nana frowned, sizing a now-recovered Xanxus. Suddenly, her whole demeanour brightened. Tsuna heard Xanxus breath out a stiff _Oh…Noooo…_ before he heard his mother squeal in delight.

"Honey!" Nana turned towards Iemitsu, "Why don't you let Dan-kun school with Tsu-kun for a year?" All four table occupants looked to the table's right to notice a passed out Gokudera frothing from his mouth.

"What do you say, Dan-kun?!" she beamed, completely oblivious to the rise in the room's temperature, "Maybe I could talk to Tsu-kun's teacher into having you for summer class too!"

"Ano…Kaa-san…" Tsuna squeaked, noticing Xanxus' knuckle turning white from his hard grip on the spoon and his grown out bangs ominously hiding his eyes from Tsuna's view. _Did the spoon just glow a faint orange?_ Tsuna looked at the said object, mesmerized.

"XANXUS!" he heard his dad bark out. Suddenly, it was like a bucket of water was poured on him. The temperature of the room seemed to have returned to normal and so was the colour of the spoon. _Was it just his imagination?_ He looked up to see Xanxus looking just as perplexed.

"Umm…that's a great idea, Nana-san" Xanxus smiled at his mom meekly and the glanced at his dad. Tsuna curiously looked at his dad and promptly shivered. He heard Gokudera gulp audibly beside him. If looks could kill, Xanxus would have gotten a rebirth by now. Tsuna glanced sympathetically at Xanxus who seemed to be looking at anything but his dad.

 ** _FLASH!_**

Luckily, his mom saved the day as usual chattering on about talking to his teacher immediately and packing their lunch for the day. The ride to the CEDEF headquarters had been painfully quite for Xanxus who had been forced to sit beside Iemitsu in the passenger's seat. His dad, however, had relatively cooled down on the way to the archives and now here he was listening to his dad's lessons on Mafia history.

"However, Tsuna…" here, his dad looked at him seriously, "Vongola is a part of the European Mafia. It is nothing compared to the World Mafia" _Wait! What?_ Tsuna blinked, suddenly wide awake.

"The World Mafia, Tsuna…" Iemitsu patiently repeated, "A Family must reach a certain level of strength and recognition before being initiated into the World Mafia. Vongola is yet to reach that feat."

"Ano…how strong is this World Mafia?" Tsuna enquired nervously. And here he thought Vongola was the best there is!

"The World Mafia comprises of the top hundred Mafia Families from all over the world" Gokudera started, taking a seat beside him, "These Families are constantly on each other's throat to try and get to the third position in the World Mafia"

 _Eeh?!_ Tsuna blinked. "Eto…Why third?"

"Because…" Iemitsu began grimly, "Getting to the second position is suicide. And the first, however…" Iemitsu looked around, beckoning the other two closer.

"The first position is ruled by either the ancient Ariana Family or the Aria Family. The second has been constantly shared by the Summer and the Ivanov Family for ages." Iemitsu whispered, "However, the peculiarity about the Aria and Ariana is that the whole Family comprises of just one person."

" ** _WHAAAAAAT?!_** " Tsuna screeched, earning a glare from Xanxus. He immediately composed himself. "That's impossible! Is that person that strong?!"

Iemitsu smiled indulgingly at him while Gokudera continued as if his boss hadn't woken up the dead a second ago. "The Aria protects while the Ariana destroys. These two beings are rumoured to be the residue of an ancient curse. The Ariana's sole purpose is to overpower and violate Aria. However, Ariana's motives are yet to be seen as he had never won for generations" _Ariana_. Tsuna scratched his head. _He was pretty sure he had heard this name before…_

"As for Aria, he's been besting Ariana for generations" Gokudera smiled, "Aria's born male but once he wins, he is rumoured to transform into a female to give birth. Once Aria ensures that her linage is secured, her soul leaves the world." Gokudera sighed. "It's also rumoured that an Aria could be born in any of the Families in the World Mafia, thus automatically promoting the said Family to number one. The Family also earns the support of the Summer and Ivanov since no one wants to take the chance of Ariana winning."

"That's a lot to take in" Tsuna smiled. He felt a little bad for Aria, knowing that once the struggle of saving the world from Ariana was over, he too had to die.

"How about we meet up with your teacher and have some lunch before we continue, Tsuna?" his dad looked at him and Gokudera.

"Yes, please…" Tsuna grumbled. _He hadn't learned this much for years!_

* * *

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY RAIDED OUR BASE?!" Hibari roared, shaking the living daylights out of Fuuta.

"That's the latest report from the Main House in Japan" Fuuta looked up sadly, "There were heavy causalities on our side"

"What about Namimori High? _WHAT ABOUT SQUALO?!"_

"Calm down, Hibari-san!" Tsuna cautiously pulled Fuuta away from his rabid comrade. _This was getting worse by the minute…_

"Oya oya…what's this entire ruckus for, eh?" a soft voice questioned from their left. Tsuna looked up to come face to face with a concerned looking Yamamoto and…

 _"_ _No…"_

He could feel Hibari's agitation become tenfold. Before Tsuna could stop him, Hibari had lunched at a perplexed Mukuro, bunching his collar in his hands.

"Bastard! What the hell are you doing here?!"

Mukuro gave him an odd look. "As much as it pleases me to see you all ruffled up, I have no idea where you expect me to be, Kufufufu~" Suddenly, Mukuro's eyes turned sharp and he looked pointedly at Hibari, "Speaking of which, shouldn't you be with Squ-chan?"

Hibari immediately let him go, a sudden look of realization taking over his face. "Squalo had lied…" he whispered in shock, "Squalo had lied to me…"

"And to me…" Mukuro grimaced.

"Squalo lied about what?" Yamamoto questioned Tsuna, "What's going on?"

It was as if the mere presence of Yamamoto had rekindled Hibari's wrath again. He whipped venomous, accusing eyes at Yamamoto all the while struggling to withhold his Flame. "YOU…" he menacingly began. "How DARE you!"

"Juudaime!" the agitated group turned towards the corridor to notice a frantic Gokudera running towards them.

"Juudaime! Juudaime…!" he struggled with his balance before bending over to get his breath.

"Ryo-Ryohei's report…emergency…" he huffed and puffed with Tsuna rubbing comforting circles to his back.

"Breath…Gokudera-kun…"

"No…" Gokudera finally stood straight, "Juudaime! The attack had been a decoy. The main attack was on Namimori"

 _Gasp!_ "What?!" Tsuna caught hold of Gokudera's shoulders. "What happened? What about Mom and the others?!"

"They had been safely guided to the underground base, Juudaime" he replied solemnly, "But…we couldn't get to Tsuyoshi-san on time" he whispered softly. Tsuna cringed when the sound of a sword clattering to the ground filled the hallway. _Yamamoto…_

"W-what do…?" Yamamoto stuttered his eyes wide but not really observing. However, Tsuna gasped when Gokudera hit him hard on his head with the report folder.

"Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna chided.

"You asshole!" Gokudera growled at a shocked Yamamoto, "Your dad's safe!"

" _WHAT?!"_ Tsuna gaped and so did Yamamoto. Tsuna carefully observed Gokudera. "What are you not telling us, Gokudera-kun?"

"When Ryohei found out that the real Funeral Wreath was in Namimori, he rushed out towards your dad's place first" Gokudera gritted out, "He met with your dad halfway and informed him the direction to the base. So, there!"

Yet, Yamamoto looked agitated. "But how did my dad fin—"Gokudera gestured him to stop and picked up his phone. The face of a haggard Ryohei greeted them.

"I-I fo-found Squ-Squalo!" he gasped out. Before Gokudera could retort, Yamamoto snatched the phone from him.

"Squalo?! What happened?! **_WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SQUALO?!"_** he roared, shaking the projection phone roughly.

"Squalo held the monster back to buy time for your dad to escape" Gokudera spoke neutrally, "When Ryohei reached the restaurant an hour ago, he reported to me that the whole place was in rubbles save for stains of blood splattered on the street" Gokudera glared pointedly at a shell-shocked Yamamoto.

"None of this would have happened if you had not left Squalo there…" All heads turned towards a violently shaking Hibari and an equally distressed Mukuro.

"I-I…" Yamamoto choked out, "I thought bringing Squalo to Italy…"

"Would be a distraction?" Mukuro snorted out in disgust, "Didn't think Squalo would be a distraction in your mass-murdering rout—"

" **ENOUGH!"** Tsuna roared. "Blaming each other isn't gonna help anyone!" Tsuna glared at the group.

"Gokudera-kun, send a medical unit to Japan through our S.O.S. transportation route" he barked. "Yamamoto, I want you to clear your mind and sharpen your swords. Hibari-san, please reinforce the Main Headquarters in Italy and Venice. I want you to focus!"

Turning towards Mukuro, he glared, "Stand true to your promise and get yourself free from Vendicare" Tsuna pointedly ignored Mukuro's devious smirk. "And before you all leave, would someone tell me _WHERE THE HELL IS XANXUS?!_ "

* * *

 **Rec** **kless Squ-chan! Mou~ (_)**

 **And that's all for today!**

 **R &R everyone! Than**k **you for your time! 3**


	10. Miracles and Misfortunes

**_A.N:_** Thank you so much for stopping by. I apologize for the long wait but I've been under the weather quite a lot these days T_T I have to thank all my lovely readers who have placed my story in their favourites and alerts 3. Also, **Destiny Aitsuji** , **D C JoKeR H S** and **Mani-loves-loco** , love u guys for your sweet reviews 3 3

 ** _WARNINGS:_** Language and mentions of injury.

 ** _Disclaimer:_** I do not own the familiar characters.

* * *

Tsuna bit his bottom lip as he hurried down the corridor. Just when he thought he had everything planned out, the situation took a three-sixty. Their main base at Japan—their secondary powerhouse, had been raided leaving their morale at its most vulnerable. Not to mention the state of Squalo. If Xanxus were to find out, Tsuna didn't want to image the carnage. _Of all the days for you to be punctual to the monitoring room, why today Xanxus, dammit!_ Tsuna gritted his teeth. If only Yamamoto had listen…

 ** _THUD!_**

Tsuna groaned, rubbing his aching bottom that had hit hard on the marble floor.

"Tsunayoshi-kun?"

Tsuna blinked. It was Xanxus! Tsuna blinked again. It wasn't like Xanxus to run recklessly around the corridor and bump into someone, not to mention hard enough to kill. Maybe he already found out…

"Xanxus?" Tsuna enquired with a sense of dread, "Why were you rushing down the corridor? Aren't you the one who usually sticks to stealth policy?"

Xanxus looked puzzled for a second and the suddenly gasped out loud. Tsuna observed him in shock as a hot blush engulfed his tan face and his eyes avert away from Tsuna's. _Okaay…he definitely didn't hear the reports yet…but…_

Tsuna inched towards Xanxus who was busy drawing sloppy circles on the floor with his foot. _What in the world?!_ Tsuna marvelled.

"Xanxus, I will ask you only once…" Tsuna held his shoulders and forced the flustered Xanxus to face him, "What the hell, cub?"

Tsuna leaned in closer as he heard Xanxus mumble something softly. "What was it again?" Tsuna almost shrilled when Xanxus suddenly pounced onto him and wrapped his arms around him in a rib-crushing hug.

" **SHE SAID YES!** " Xanxus practically squealed. "I-I asked her on my way to the monitoring room…" The grin on Xanxus' face was one of the biggest Tsuna had ever seen, "And she said yes…she _really_ said yes!"

 _Forget dignity…_ Tsuna screamed in terror as he was spun around like a rag doll. "She loves me, Tsu!" _Tsu…Xanxus must be drunkenly happy to call him by that name…_ Tsuna gasped softly when his eyes met a pair of the infamous crimson eyes, glowing like gemstones. They also looked suspiciously moist.

"She…I…We are gonna get married, Tsu…" he heard Xanxus whisper in awe, "She said she loves me, had always loved me…" he seemed to be in some sort of trance, "A-And promised to love me forever…only me…"

Xanxus snapped out of his revere and beamed at Tsuna. "Someone actually loves me! I mean really, really loves me for real, no pretence but real love, Tsu…" His voice sounded heavy and so did Tsuna's soul, "It feels surreal…"

Tsuna cleared his throat and gently held Xanxus' face. "Let me clear a few things first…" he smiled reassuringly at Xanxus, "I love you and will always love you and so will the rest of the Vongola." He felt his heart break at the disbelieving look that crossed Xanxus' face, "We are a family Xanxus, not just by name but by the innate desire to be together and protect each other."

Tsuna lovingly ran a hand through Xanxus' thick mane and pulled him into a tender hug. _I guess the report will have to wait…_

"Tsu…?"

"Yes?" Tsuna smiled softly.

"You won't abandon me like my dad did, now would you?" Xanxus whispered out, his voice tiny and insecure. Tsuna felt a lump form in his throat.

"No…" Tsuna choked out, "Never…" Tsuna decided then, he was never gonna confess his plans to Xanxus. _Ignorance is bliss, cub, ignorance is bliss…_

* * *

Tsuna smiled sympathetically, feeling grateful for the friends he had gotten over the years all the while observing Gokudera requesting his homeroom teacher's permission to teach Tsuna himself.

"Please! I'll listen to your classes and help you clear out your workplace every day!" Gokudera practically wailed, distressed that the Principal had easily admitted Xanxus not only for the next year as a transfer student but also as a part of the summer class. _No way in hell am I letting this blood thirsty psychopath near my sweet, innocent Juudaime!_

"Hayato-san, I would appreciate it if you would kindly stop pestering me" Susumu-sensei looked pointedly at him, "You have given me enough misconduct to last a lifetime. No matter how many times you ask, my answer will always be…" his sensei's cold eyes narrowed to slits, " _A BIG NO!_ "

Gokudera's shoulders hunched gloomily. Oh why?! Why did he ever act so cocky in his class?! He all but sobbed. Suddenly, a snort sounded from beside him, making all three glance towards the row of lockers to their left. Gokudera gritted his teeth in frustration as his eyes fell on Xanxus, casually leaning on a locker, trying his best to reign in his amusement. _THAT ARROGANT ASSHOLE!_

"I fail to see what's so funny here, Daniel-san…" Gokudera gulped when he saw his sourly sensei's attention turn towards Xanxus, "Care to share?" _Oh shit! His Susumu-sensei's toast!_ He glanced towards his Juudaime who looked just as panicked, his wide frightful eyes literally screaming for help.

However, Gokudera all but did a double take when Xanxus turned wide, innocent, ' _I-don't-know-what-you-are-talking-about'_ eyes at his sensei. "Umm…I am sorry sensei…" he muttered out in a low, soft and completely not-Xanxus voice, "I didn't mean to offend you but the complexity of the syllabus you handed me…" here, he lowered his eyes towards the floor, looking for all words, like a kicked puppy, " sort of startled me and made me feel like an ignorant clown…" He mumbled an extra 'sorry' under his breath.

Gokudera and Tsuna all but gaped at him like fools while his sensei's stern face immediately softened. "No need to apologize Daniel-san, I understand if the curriculum seems a bit overwhelming, but that's why the Principal insisted you take the summer class to help you get a head start" he gave Xanxus a soft, reassuring smile.

"But I can clearly see that I am way behind everyone else…" Xanxus groaned dejectedly, "I don't wanna take away too much of your time since the ones in summer class really need your help too"

 _Where was Xanxus going with this?_ Tsuna glanced between Xanxus and his sensei, who seemed to be deep in thought. _Is he planning to bun_ k _the summer class all-together?_

"It would be super cool if…" Tsuna heard Xanxus start, "I had someone help me run through the basics while you help the rest of your studentssss…." Xanxus drawled out coyly. Tsuna blinked when his sensei abruptly turned towards Gokudera.

"Hayato-san, I believe you said you have absolutely nothing to do this summer, am I right?" Gokudera nodded curtly, his heart beating fast, "Then I guess you wouldn't mind tutoring Daniel-san on basic algebra and trigonometry, now would you?

Gokudera resisted the urge to give his sensei a hug. "Not at all, sensei" He smiled, hoping it didn't seem gleeful. _He get to be with his Juudaime! Hell yeah!_

"That settles it then…" Susumu-sensei straightened up, "I'll talk to the Principal on letting you attend summer class" His sensei looked pained in letting him in. Maybe he could use this opportunity to get into his sensei's good graces for Juudaime's sake.

"Does that calm your mind, Daniel-san?" he heard his sensei speak in the same soft voice again.

"Thank you very much! And…umm…sorry to be a bother" Xanxus politely bowed down.

"Not at all and you are welcome, Daniel-san. I guess I'll be seeing you and Tsunayoshi-san in class then" Susumu-sensei smiled and turned back towards his office, not before throwing a vindictive glance towards Gokudera and shutting the door on his face.

"That went rather well…" Tsuna laughed awkwardly, glancing at a now sober Xanxus.

After what seemed like eons, Xanxus let out a soft sigh and began to walk down the corridor and towards the exit, mumbling a soft 'I am outta here.'

"Wait up, Xanxus?" Tsuna all but ran to catch up, "Hurry up, Gokudera-kun!" When no reply met his statement, Tsuna turned around to see a perplexed looking guardian.

"Ano…Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna walked up to him, concern etching his eyes, "Is something wrong?" Instead, Gokudera called out to Xanxus making him stop halfway on his lazy stroll. An uncomfortable silence settled between them as Gokudera clenched his teeth and Xanxus started to walk again.

" **THANK YOU!"** Gokudera all but barked. Tsuna smiled indulgingly. It must have pricked every fibre of pride in Gokudera to thank Xanxus. He saw Xanxus giving Gokudera a sidelong glance.

"Tch…you're pathetic" Xanxus began to walk away, "I don't know what you are on but I didn't do it to help your useless-self" Xanxus drawled out, his voice low and gruff. Once near the floor's exit, he completely turned around to address Gokudera. "I couldn't digest the sight of a member of the Vongola Family acting so pitiful" he sneered at them before walking towards the parking lot.

"That bastard…" Gokudera grinded out through gritted teeth, "Does he realize how much guts it took me to do that?"

"Well, look on the bright side, Gokudera-kun" Tsuna smiled softly, patting his arm to calm him down, "We get to spend the vacation together"

Gokudera took a deep breath and finally smiled. _I guess I do owe him one…_ And that's when Xanxus' words struck him hard.

"Juudaime…" Gokudera breathed out in awe.

"Hmm…"

"Did Xanxus just imply that he's accepted us as a part of the Family by accusing as pathetic members of Vongola?" He heard his Juudaime gasp beside him.

"He did…" Tsuna exhaled out in stupor. Having his rigid sensei smile and Xanxus playing the 'innocent-me' card to help them out, Tsuna began to believe that miracles do happen.

* * *

Yamamoto had no idea what time it was. He had forgotten his watch in his haste to catch the jet to Japan and the white hospital walls were devoid of clocks. He took a deep breath; reminiscing about those past months where he had walked on a thin wire between life and death, blade and bullets, treachery and pain; yet nothing had ever terrified him as much as hearing the news of his beloved Squalo's battle against a Funeral Wreath. He cursed Byakuran and his ten generations to hell and back. _That bastard will pay…_

He was pulled out of his dark reverie by a hand on his shoulders. He looked up to see Ryohei looking down solemnly at him. He looked to be in no better shape himself.

"Squalo's stabilized for now"

"How is Squalo doing? May I see—"

"Sure" Ryohei gave him a weak nod, "But there is something you should know…" The door of the ICU opened to let out Dr. Miguel, the head doctor and successor of Dr. Ritsu; Yamamoto shrugged off Ryohei's hand and immediately rushed to him. "Dr. Miguel…" he started.

"Ah, Takeshi…" the good doctor gave him a curt nod, "Squalo's been asking for you ever since waking up" He gave Yamamoto a bittersweet smile. "But as Squalo's partner, I feel it's necessary that you be informed of this first…" he continued with his clipboard.

"Squalo's got multiple fractures, three broken ribs, a slight puncture on the left lung and second degree burns on 35% of the body…" Yamamoto forced himself to swallow down the bile and guilt that engulfed his guts. _Oh Squalo…why didn't I take you with me…_

"Also…" the doctor glanced at him, a tint of nervousness entering his eyes, "The lumbar spine has received the most damage. I've been looking into Squalo's reflexes and…" A pair of hands grabbed his shoulders in a vice grip, stopping him mid-babble.

"Dr. Miguel…" Yamamoto shook him slightly, "Please, don't stall anymore, I can't take it…What on earth is wrong with Squalo?"

Dr. Miguel took one look into the desperate eyes of Vongola's natural hitmen and pursed his lips at the sorrow he saw in them. He knew first-hand how close Squalo and Yamamoto were. "I am sorry, son…" he regretfully muttered out, "Squalo is paraplegic."

 _"What…?"_

* * *

 **Finally! I was able to sit down and write. God…I feel accomplished!**

 **R &R everyone! Than**k **you for your time! 3**


	11. Growing fears and feelings

**AN:** Thank you so much for stopping by and thank you **_seryuTammi_** ( _who am I kidding? R27 is the way of life! 3_ ) and **_D C JoKeR H S_** for taking the time to post a review; I really do appreciate it!

 **WARNING:** Angst, two swats and Squalo's foul mouth

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own familiar characters.

* * *

 _Squalo is paraplegic…_

Yamamoto felt his hand hesitant and trembling, hovering a mere inch away from the door knob. Everything felt surreal. Like a bad, messed up nightmare. Maybe, all those people he had killed had finally decided to haunt him? Perhaps, he must be under a mist user's grasp…Perhaps, if he rang up to his home right now, Squalo might pick up the phone with a hearty ' _Voi'_ he had come to love so much or a cheerful ' _Come back soon_ '. If he were lucky, a tender and shy ' _Love you, Sushi'_. _Yeah, that must be it…His boisterous, wild Squalo would never succumb to…_

"Yamamoto…"Came the regretful voice of Ryohei behind him, "Whenever you're ready, man." Yamamoto felt him place a hand on his shoulder, a small measure of comfort and an anchor to reality; a reality he absolutely refused to face or accept for the matter.

"It-It's fine" Yamamoto lied, not making eye contact, "I'll be okay…I-I just need time…".He felt Ryohei give him one final squeeze of his shoulder before turning around and walking down the white corridor, probably to contact Tsuna. Belatedly, Yamamoto realized his hand had been subconsciously gripping the door knob the whole time. The cool knob burned under his fingertips as he finally twisted it and pushed the door open and immediately regretted his brave decision when his eyes fell on Squalo lying in the hospital bed.

 ** _REGRETS! GUILT! SELF LOATHING! FLASH!_**

"Ah! Takeshi…back so soon?" Yamamoto took the offered cup of tea from his dad, plonking himself comfortably over the sofa; "Yeah, I only had a few errands to run before leaving for Italy tomorrow" He smiled, taking a sip of the chamomile tea, "I thought I'll take the rest of the day off and spend the day with Squalo."

"Hmm…" he felt his dad scrutinize him from behind the counter, his eyes sharp and his knife ready to slice a piece of salmon. "Does your little errand involve shopping for a diamond ring?"

" _What?!"_ Yamamoto choked out, trying desperately not to spit his tea. _Who was he kidding? Nothing gets past his dad!_ Yamamoto marginally relaxed when his dad gave a hearty laugh.

"Took you long enough, son…" his dad turned around to completely face him, "Rest assured, Squalo's completely oblivious as usual" Here, both father and son shared a laugh at the poor shark's expense clearly understanding Squalo's complete lack of expertise when it came to emotions.

"Besides…" his pops started, turning back to the kitchen counter, "All Squalo thinks about these days is packing…" Spontaneously, the laughter died down in Yamamoto's face.

"Packing?" He prayed that he had somehow misheard his dad.

"Yeah, to Italy, of course!" his father bellowed. Only when he heard his son's footsteps thundering up the stairs, did he sober up. "Don't mess this one up, Takeshi…" he muttered despairingly to himself, "Don't mess this one up…"

 ** _FLASH!_**

"Squalo…" Yamamoto moaned in sorrow, dragging his heavy legs towards the chair beside Squalo's bed. Lowering his frame carelessly on the wooden chair, Yamamoto reached over and cradled one of Squalo's cold hands gently in his. Yamamoto looked around and observed five machines hooked up to the body of his prone lover, an array of tubes sticking into both arms and a breathing mask over a slim nose. Yamamoto felt a prickling sensation at the back of his eyes as his gaze moved lower to observe the heavily bandaged pelvis and a pair of long, numb legs.

To finally accept that those legs which— had once carried the proud Varia Rain swiftly in the battlefield, had gracefully followed his own on the dance floor, had walked beside him ever since the Ring battle, had wrapped securely and loving around him in passionate moments of love-making— will never, ever move again; It made him wanna hang himself right there but not before disembowelling Byakuran in ever dimension! Yamamoto gritted his teeth and snuggled his face in the crook of Squalo's neck. He breathed in deep and felt himself calm down under the essence of Squalo's sweet scent. Squalo had left Xanxus and the Varia behind, the title of Sword Emperor behind— _Heck!_ Even the path of the sword behind! _ALL FOR HIM!_ _And what the hell did he do in return?!_

 ** _FLASH!_**

Yamamoto bit back a groan as he saw Squalo rummaging through their room, a check list in one hand and a pair of toothpaste on the other, completely oblivious to Yamamoto standing and staring by the door.

' _Squalo looks really excited…_ ' Yamamoto thought despondently, ' _If I could take…_ ' Yamamoto firmly shook his head. If he did take Squalo with him, Tsuna's plan was bound to be uncovered by the inquisitive Varia Rain and then all hell would break loose!

Yamamoto blinked. He could imagine himself go about like, ' _Hey, my love! I want you to marry me but I'll have to mention the fact that you will have to wait for our actual wedding for a while or perhaps forever as Tsuna would be getting shot in the head in a few days and he will be playing dead for a while. Meanwhile, his guardians, including your dear Sushi, will be in a state of indeterminate suspension as tiny molecules till our younger selves find a way to defeat the most sadistic, cruel, son of a bitch to ever set foot in our planet!_ ' all the while smiling and pretending Squalo had said a happy 'Yes!' to his proposal and conveniently missed the rest of his babble. _Fat chance…_ Yamamoto grimaced. He had to tell Squalo that staying here was a necessity, no buts, period.

"Ahem…" Yamamoto finally cleared his throat and almost cringed in guilt as Squalo turned big hopeful eyes at him.

"How long have you been standing and staring at me like a love struck fool?" Squalo smirked, taking slow deliberate steps towards him.

 _Screw the plan!_ Yamamoto smirked back. "Can't blame me now, can you?" He circled his arms around Squalo's waist, pulling the lithe body flush against his. "It's not every day I see you running around in your apron" he grinned.

"Hush now…" Squalo admonished playfully before throwing both arms around Yamamoto's neck and pulling him into a soft, chaste kiss. "Welcome home…" Squalo breathed out. "I got everything packed here, well…except the tooth—!"

Yamamoto had instantly shut Squalo up, diving in for a passionate kiss which left the shark breathless.

"It's rude to interrupt when someone's talking!" Squalo playfully smacked him on the shoulders, "We have to talk about the trip to It—"

However, Squalo was yet again interrupted with a desperate kiss and Yamamoto's roaming hands.

"We'll talk later…" Squalo felt Yamamoto purr hotly against an ear and then pull the pair of them towards their bed.

"But we have to finish…" Squalo half-heartedly started, only for Yamamoto to lay them both gently on the bed.

"I do plan to finish you off, Squalo…" Yamamoto smirked deviously. He smiled victoriously when all traces of resistance left Squalo's face. Effectively shutting out the part of his brain which screamed his guilt and not so gently shoving the velvet box deeper into his pocket, Yamamoto swooped in for a searing kiss. They made love, again and again; and in the end, Squalo had slept in while Yamamoto silently wore his coat.

He shamelessly let a tear roll down his cheek as he leaned forward to place a soft, apologetic kiss on his partner's forehead. After checking the room one last time for his belongings, Yamamoto dug through his pocket and pulled out the velvet box, leaving it on the nightstand along with a small note.

 ** _FLASH!_**

And then he had walked down the stairs, ignoring his dad's look of disappointment and left without turning back like a coward! Yamamoto bit the inside of his cheek and pushed down the urge to demolish the whole place. He should have listened to his instincts, his dad—Heck! His friends who had practically begged him to bring Squalo to Italy.

 _This was just too much!_ A sob rattled his frame as he caressed Squalo's hand against his cheek. "Come on, love, wake up…" he mumbled, his lips grazing Squalo's bandaged knuckle, "I-I can't do this without you…" he choked out miserably.

He broke out of his sorry state when he felt a hand heavily rest on his head, and a thumb delicately rubbing over his forehead. He looked up to see a pair of heavy lidded, silver eyes observing him tiredly. Relief hit him in waves along with a growing sense of fear as he looked deep into Squalo's emotionless eyes. He wouldn't be surprised if Squalo threw him out of the room and snarled at him that they were over. After all, Yamamoto was surprised Squalo had put up with him for so long. Yamamoto gritted his teeth in determination. Squalo may not want him and may never forgive him but he was as sure as heck gonna stay this time around! _Yet…the thought of Squalo walking out of his life…_

"Y-ye-yess…" Yamamoto heard Squalo's delicate voice rasp out with difficulty and felt Squalo's hand move to gently caress his cheek.

Yamamoto blinked, looking for the entire world, lost. As if reading his muddled mind, Squalo let out a pained chuckle before softly muttering, 'T-to the n-note, silly…'

Yamamoto felt his brain short-circuit. The note! _THE NOTE!_ **_WHAT HAD HE WRITTTEN ON THE DAMN NOTE!_** Suddenly, realization hit him like a punch to his guts as he felt a fresh wave of sorrow and gratitude take over his senses. He took a sharp breath as tears rolled down his cheeks and slide onto the back of Squalo's hand he held against his lips.

"Squalo…" he finally mustered the courage to lean over and look into his love's compassionate, forgiving eyes, "I-I love you…" he whispered, placing a soft kiss on Squalo's forehead, pouring all his fears, love, longing and doubts into that one moment.

"I love you too, Takeshi…" he heard Squalo whisper back, just as lovingly. They smiled at each other as their noses touched affectionately.

Of course, he damn well remembered his hastily written, ' _WILL YOU MARRY ME, LOVE?_ ' on a bright yellow note alright! _I am definitely the biggest but the luckiest bastard in the world right now!_ Squalo was his and he was never, ever gonna let go!

* * *

Squalo took a deep breath, quietly observing the vast sea below him and mentally contemplating his options. It's been a month since he'd been detained to this tranquil place with a cosy resort and two annoying guardians on the pretext of his recovery. _Tch!_ He couldn't wait to move his muscles and kill someone!

The gentle summer breeze did nothing to soothe his agitated mind. He was tired! Tired of the constant surveillance, tired of needing a helping hand in the most simplest of tasks, tired of failure and constant disappointments, _JUST PLAIN TIRED!_ He leaned forward and looked over the edge. At the moment, jumping into the ocean seemed like a good plan.

The sound of a twig breaking under a foot caught Squalo's attention. He looked back only to roll his eyes and turn back towards the sea. _Talk about Captain Control…_ Squalo snorted.

"What are you doing here?" he heard the stern voice of Hibari behind him. "You shouldn't be straining your body for something as trivial as a walk. Get back to bed."

 _Trivial as a walk._ What had he been reduced to? Squalo grimaced in disgust. "If you think I'd just crawl into bed just because you felt so…" He abruptly whipped around to snarl into Hibari's passive face, " _YOU GOT ANOTHER THING COMING, ASSHOLE!"_

Hibari's completely unperturbed faced only aided in fuelling the rage in Squalo. _This kid!_ He was like some megalomaniacal taskmaster! He glared with all the hatred he could muster as Hibari started to casually approach him.

"If you are done, then I'll be taking you back to bed now."

And before Squalo could so much as retort, he felt himself getting manhandled. A gush of air left his lungs as his abdomen landed heavily on muscled shoulders. Squalo blinked through his dishevelled curtain of hair and then—

" ** _Vooooooooooooooooooooooiiiiiiiiiiiiii…!_** " He kicked, screamed and struggled against the surprisingly strong yet gentle grip around his waist, "Unhand me, ya brat!" he sneered at the back of Hibari's head. _That nerve of that kid!_ One moment, he was gazing at the sunset by the cliff and then the next, he found himself flung over the Cloud guardian's shoulders like a sack of potatoes!

"You should have come with me when I requested you the first time around" Hibari spoke back, completely unfazed, "The memo says you should be in bed sharp at five-thirty…"

"Screw the memo and screw you!" Squalo spat out and started to thump on Hibari's back. If only he had his sword and his mobility back! His body was actually beginning to ache all over from his exertion. "Put me down this instant, ya piece of shit…" he bellowed into Hibari's ears, "Or I'll dice you int—"

Suddenly, a loud ' _SMACK_ ' resonated through the quiet ambience halting all forms of struggle from the violent Varia Rain. Squalo gaped in shock, unable to comprehend what had just happened to him right now. _Did that brat just…?_ His face flushed in embarrassment as he registered a warm stinging sensation spreading over his right butt cheek.

"You bastard…" Squalo started in a slow, deadly voice, "You just got yourself a deat— _ah!_ " he yelped involuntarily as he felt a harder slap on his butt. _This was not happening…_ Squalo shook his head in disbelief and looked up to see Hibari giving him a stern glare over his shoulders.

"Just so you know…" Hibari started, his eyes turning into slits, "I could do this all day if you insist on being difficult…"

Squalo resisted the urge to gulp and quickly looked away. _Ooooh, he will have his day soon but until then…_ Squalo gritted his teeth and silently fumed as Hibari opened the door to his room. He was beginning to prefer that damn baseball freak to this control freak of a perfectionist. At least, Yamamoto Takeshi was kind…Squalo blinked. _Where did that come from?_

"Yamamoto Takeshi's gone to buy your recent prescriptions" he heard Hibari speak, "He'll be back soon"

"Like I care…" Squalo muttered out. _Did he just speak out his thoughts?_ "You can't treat me like this. I'll tell Rits—"

"I'll treat you whatever the way I want" Hibari cut him off sharply, gently pulling him off his shoulders and carefully sat him down upon his bed.

Squalo felt tears of frustration prickle his eyes. He was an assassin, _dammit!_ And here he was, being coddled like a baby. Oh, why hadn't he just died…?

He gasped softly when he felt Hibari take a hold of his chin, tilting it ever so lightly to look into his eyes. "Sorry for doing this, but it's for your own good" he felt Hibari gently coax him into the soft pillows, his other hand pulling the blankets over him.

Finally, Squalo let out a sigh of defeat and plonked onto the pillows, raising a hand over his forehead. God…he felt like a useless piece of junk!

Squalo felt his eye lids slowly droop in exhaustion when the hand holding his chin brushed past his cheek before moving a few strands of stray hair away from his eyes.

"Rest, well…" he heard the voice of Hibari mumble soothingly, "I will stand guard and protect you…"

He felt his consciousness slowly fade away by the continuous gentle strokes of Hibari's hand on his tresses and the addicting baritone of his voice.

And finally, he was off to the land of nod, but not before hearing one last whispered 'Good night' near his ears and a quick, hesitant peck on his forehead.

Squalo smiled. Maybe the Vongola Cloud wasn't as cold-hearted as he made himself to be.

* * *

 **Yee-haw! Hiba-chan, don't take no shit!**

 **Poor, Squ-chan…gets interrupted every time XD**

 **Thanks for the read!**


	12. Of quadrants and friends

**_A.N:_** Hey y'all! Thank you so much for stopping by. Firstly, I would like to apologize profusely for the exceedingly long wait. Life's been pretty mean to mean to me and I took the time to mope and recover.

However, you guys still stuck to my story! Thank you my lovely readers and my lovely reviewers of my last chappy **Destiny Aitsuji** , **D C JoKeR H S** and **seryuTammi** and of course, **stellacisem**. Love y'all 3 3

 ** _Disclaimer:_** I do not own the familiar characters.

* * *

Xanxus gritted his teeth, taking slow and deliberate deep breaths to calm down. One thing he had learned in his stay with the Sawada's for a month was the art of patience. He had seen his fair share of crazies in his life, being the leader of Varia and all, but the Sawada household took the gold medal for being pure crackpots. He knew that the whole summer class was a bad idea to begin with. He had done well, _duh_ , but he had also witnessed a whole new level of incompetence of the chosen Vongola heir. _What kind of junior high student didn't know basic trigonometry and algebra!_

Xanxus huffed from his perch on the window sill and threw a tentative glance at the brat pack occupying his and the scum's shared room. His eyebrows twitched remembering his argument with Iemitsu at the first week of his stay. Nana had already fixed his own room in the house but then the bastard had insisted that he share with Tsuna for the rest of his stay. Something about monitoring mist creatures and crap! Like he cared…he should be in bed right now, dammit! _Stupid summer school, stupid parent's day…._ Xanxus grumbled moodily while observing Tsuna's foolish gang of scums trying to teach him basic quadrants. One glance at the clock told him that sleep was gonna be a distant dream for tonight.

"You see this, Juudaime?" he looked up to see the bomber jackass pointing to a chalkboard. _Where had that come from?!_ "It has two scales - one running across the plane called the x-axis and another at right angles to it called the y-axis." He explained in what was a perfect impression of Susumu-sensei. "A point's location on the plane is given by two numbers; the first tells where it is on the x-axis and the second which tells where it is on the y-axis. Together, they define a single, unique position on the plane" Gokudera turned expectantly towards Tsuna, "Did you get it Juudaime?" he beamed.

Xanxus looked over and almost chocked in laughter to see a trembling Tsuna at the verge of tears. _That looser probably didn't even get what an axis was…_ Xanxus snorted. "It's easy, Tsuna" he heard the optimistic voice of the baseball freak, who had come to give a report on Squalo's recovery and thus had unfortunately joined the study session, chime in, "Just think, think and the numbers will magically pop out in your mind! Like whoosh!" he laughed. Tsuna fell face first on the table while Xanxus sweat dropped. _Talk about severe brain damage…_

"Sawada! Just reach within and scream out the answer with all your might and it will be definitely right!" Xanxus just stared at Tsuna's Sun. He'd say it was funny if he was honest with himself and he was barely holding on to his mirth. However, Tsuna bemoaning the disaster of tomorrow's parent's day and how he wished the ground just swallowed him whole was the last straw. Xanxus howled in laughter clutching on to his middle. _This was the tenth generation Vongola!_ _Seriously, what was the old man thinking?!_

He knew he shouldn't be laughing like this. He already felt the heavy disapproval of the Storm brat and the insecurity of Tsuna in the air. And if Iemitsu got a word of this, he would be crisp bacon for tomorrow's breakfast. But heck! He was having too much fun!

And sure enough, when he opened his eyes again, he was met with a fuming Storm, weapon and all, with a frantic Tsuna trying to coax him to calm down.

"Gokudera-kun, please calm down!" Tsuna pleaded. "I am going to get laughed at tomorrow anyway…"

"Then I'll shoot all of them down" Gokudera growled. "Nobody gets to mock Juudaime. The just don't realize how grea—"

"What's your problem with signs of coordinates, brat?" Xanxus raised his brow.

He frowned when Tsuna gave him a meek 'everything' as a reply. He looked too down for his own taste. What's wrong with being laughed at by a bunch of retard kids anyway? He was mocked, bullied and humiliated almost all his life and he wasn't complaining. Xanxus sighed walking up to Tsuna, snatching his worksheets and sitting beside him.

"Listen trash and listen well because I hate to repeat myself, alright?" At Tsuna's vigorous nodding, he continued. "I'll question you and you better answer them right or I'll shoot you, got it?" he smirked at Tuna's squeak.

"The horizontal line is the x-axis and the vertical one is y-axis, alright?" Tsuna looked at him and then nodded.

"Alright, now what comes before y?"

"Umm…x?" Tsuna sweat dropped. Did Xanxus really think he was that dumb?

"Good. In the same way, the point of x-axis always comes before y, got it?" Tsuna blinked. _Ooooh…_ He nodded his head.

"And now for the signs…" Xanxus drew a graph. "As you can see, there are four quadrants…" he carefully pointed them out in counter clockwise direction.

"Now, scum..." he looked sharply at Tsuna who froze, "What is it that you would never forget?"

"My friends and my family" Tsuna gave a weak smile. _Typical…_ Xanxus grimaced before turning back to the graph. _Now, how to work this one out to his idiotic brain?_

"Now I want you to consider this as our case…" he looked up to see a very attentive Tsuna. _Good._ "Let x be one's outer mentality and y be the inner one, alright?" _Oh God, why am I even doing this…?_

"Now, I want you to tell me someone who's positive inside out…"

"Kaa-san!" Tsuna immediately chimed and Xanxus almost grinned. "Now there are the signs of your first quadrant, double positive"

"Now, tell me someone who gives you the impression of being stern on the outside but soft on the inside?" Xanxus lazily drawled.

"Hibari-san" Tsuna shivered, "Hibari-san is really stern but I guess it's because he wants everyone safe" he smiled softly. He knew Hibari had a kind heart somewhere but nevertheless he was scary.

Xanxus blinked, trying hard to remember where he had heard the name before. _'Voooi! That asshole Hibari keeps bossing me around. He is almost as worse as Ritsu-san. Oi! Why the fuck are you laughing?! Voooooooii…!'_ Ah…Squalo's tyrant of a keeper. _Heh!_

"That's you second quadrant sign, by the by" he continued, ignoring the strange look he was getting from the rest. "Well…someone who is stern inside out?"

"Umm…" Tsuna sheepishly rubbed his neck, "Reborn…" he grinned, a tint of fear on his face. "I guess that's third..."

"Yes" Xanxus stiffly nodded. He was hoping for Iemitsu, to be honest but oh well… "Now, someone who is all positive and strong on the outside but it's actually cold and dead on the inside, well?" _I guess Iemitsu fits this description more…_

 _"_ Xanxus…" he heard Tsuna softly whisper.

"Okay, now that's the sig—"Wait _! Did he just say…?_ He raised his head to pointedly look at Tsuna. "What did you just say?" he gritted out becoming hyper aware of the tangible silence in the room.

"You" Tsuna repeated without missing a beat, looking directly into his eyes, his once brown eyes now a glowing hazel. "You look strong, unbreakable and almost immortal on the outside, like a God of War" Tsuna's voice echoed with a strange ring to it and Xanxus felt his eyelids grow heavy. "But deep inside, you are vulnerable, hurt and in pain" Xanxus closed his eyes as a warm palm caressed his cheek. "But you don't have to be afraid anymore…" the equally warm voice continued. "All I want is for you to open up to me…" it whispered to him.

Xanxus snapped his eyes open and slapped the hand away. He felt disoriented with the room spinning around. He gritted his teeth, trying his best to control his thundering heart. He felt a hand on his back, rubbing firm circles to calm him down.

"That's it. Deep breaths…"

Slowly but surely he felt his eyes and his senses adjust to the surroundings. _Was that someone arguing?_ He blinked when he noticed that it had been the baseball lunatic who had been embracing him all along.

"Ah…feeling all right now?" he smiled down at him, concern evident on his face. He lifted a glass of water to Xanxus' lips which he gratefully took.

"Wh-what happened?" he croaked out, trying to sit up one his own. He looked up just in time to see Tsuna pulling Gokudera and Ryohei away from….Xanxus glared. _Rokudo Mukuro._

" _YA BASTARD!_ " he heard Gokudera growl. "How dare ya try and control Juudaime and then use his Will against the gun bastard?!"

"With my trident, of course, Kufufufu…" Mukuro helpfully supplied, humour painting his delicate face. "Besides…" he raised his trident towards them, "I already told you he has to open up or he would be susceptible to manipulation."

"But forcing someone to speak up against their will is plain wrong to the extreme!" Ryohei gritted out.

"Xanxus is not your puppet to play around with!" Tsuna practically screeched in disapproval, shocking the room's occupants. "You don't get to play with emotions like that!" he barked out.

"Juudaime…"

"Tsuna…"

Mukuro, however, had a grim face. "Fine" he announced, turning around in a cloud of mist. "But do remember this Tsunayoshi…" he threw over his shoulders. "Arianna will wait for no one" before leaving them in dreadful silence.

"Arianna…" Gokudera paled. "Did he really say Arianna?"

Tsuna blinked before realizing that he had forgotten to tell them about the encounter he had with the spectral being that tried to harm Xanxu—

Tsuna gasped, remembering the crux of the dilemma and ran towards Xanxus who was leaning against Yamamoto on the floor. _Is he hurt? He looks a little pale?_ Tsuna panicked, kneeling in front of Xanxus and cradling his face in his palms. _His skin's cold and clammy and his pupils are dilated…_

"Are you alright?!" Tsuna gushed out, deftly ignoring Gokudera's terrified scream and Ryohei's cheers, "Should I call Tou-san? Do you want to lay down a little bit?"

"I-I-I'm al-alr…" Xanxus tried to stutter out through trembling teeth. Of all the people to appear vulnerable in front of, why them…Xanxus bit down on his lips, trying hard to hide his frustration. Tsuna looked at him for a moment before awkwardly letting his face go.

"Um…Sorry about that…Mukuro's just creepy like that sometimes…" Tsuna squeaked out. And when he did meet Xanxus' eyes, all he got was a blank stare. _Hieeeeee….!_ He almost got a heart attack when Xanxus snorted and broke into peals of laughter. _Eeeeeh?!_

"So, let me get this straight, that makes him quadrant number four, eh?" Xanxus grinned lazily at him, humour dancing in his tired eyes. Gokudera snorted, Yamamoto started to laugh heartily while Ryohei pumped his fist in the air and Tsuna let a lazy grin on his own bloom across his face.

* * *

It had been way past midnight when the gang hit the bed with Gokudera and Yamamoto sharing Xanxus' room and Ryohei setting out after a call fron his sister. Tsuna yawned, stretching himself before pulling the blankets around him. It was decidedly cold for a summer night and as much as he tried Tsuna was too nervous of the day's activities to sleep blissfully. Not to mention that he was still a little mad at Mukuro. Xanxus on the other hand…

Tsuna peered through the dark to see Xanxus practically sprawled out on the bed, his t-shirt almost completely on his face and his shorts giving him the barest of modesty; a hand thrown over his eyes and the other one clutching the blanket in a vice-grip. Tsuna frowned, slowly slipping from under the blankets. That wasn't a sign of a peaceful sleep and Xanxus had been mostly nightmare free for the month.

"Mama…" Xanxus sighed happily and rolled to his side, his back to Tsuna.

"Eh?' Tsuna blinked, perplexed. _That was new…_ He usually called for his brothers, his father and sometimes the Varia but never his mother. Tsuna squeaked and froze in mid step when Xanxus abruptly sat up on his bed. _Easy there, Tsuna…_

He started to tremble in fear when Xanxus slowly turned blazing scarlet eyes towards him. And just like that, Xanxus gave him a serene smile all the while extending his arms towards him. "Welcome back, Mama…" he smiled, slowly slipping out of bed and starting a slow pace towards him. However, instead of embracing Tsuna or climbing into his bed as how it usually happened, he walked past him and towards the door.

"I made dinner. I hope you like it…" Tsuna stared, mouth agape as Xanxus opened and held the door as if letting someone out. _Okaay…now I'm definitely calling the others!_

He followed Xanxus to the corridor trying discretely to wake Gokudera and Yamamoto with loud knocks to the door all the while keeping an eye on Xanxus.

"Tsu-kun, what are you doing up so late?" Tsuna blinked, turning around to see his perplexed mother a few feet away. _Oh no…_

"Kaa-san!" Tsuna stuttered. _How on earth was he going to explain this to his mom?!_

"Did you need something, Tsu-kun?" She smiled at him, oblivious to the turmoil in Tsuna's head. "Did you and Dan-kun come out to get some fresh air?"

 _Eeeeeh?!_ Tsuna whipped around when he heard the partition to the balcony open. _Hiiiiieeeeeee…!_ Tsuna started to vigorously knock the door, not noticing it open and Yamamoto giving him an odd look. "Um…Tsuna? Is it morning already?"

Before he could give him a valid reply, Gokudera pushed Yamamoto away and clutched to Tsuna's shoulders. "Juudaime! What's wrong?! Are you hurt? Did someone creep inside the house?!" he wailed, shaking Tsuna desperately.

"Ara? Why is Xanxus leaning over the rails?" Yamamoto questioned, walking towards the rails. "Is someone out there? Perhaps, Squalo!" he chirped and laughed offhandedly.

"Yamamoto-kun…" Tsuna sweat dropped, "Xanxus is sleep walking so be caref —"Tsuna stopped and scrutinized his eyes. He also noticed Yamamoto stop midway.

"Juudaime, do you see what I see?" Gokudera cautiously whispered, shielding Nana behind him. Tsuna had prayed for it to be a trick of his eyes for there, hovering in thin air beside the rails and holding on to Xanxus' arms was the same spectre, its eyes glowing a strange ebony. Tsuna wasted no time to rush past a stunned Yamamoto just as Xanxus cried a blood-curding ' _MAMA!'_ and leapt over the rails, with his arms reaching out.

He heard his mother's terrified scream and a pair of footsteps hurrying towards him. But he had eyes only for Xanxus who hapazardly hung with Tsuna clumsily gripping on to him. "Someone, help!" Tsuna screamed, clutching desperately to Xanxus' ankle. _He's slipping, he's slipping…!_

"Tsuna!" he felt Yamamoto kneel beside him and lean over to try and reach Xanxus. "I'm almost there, Tsuna!" And that's when he felt a sharp jab in his mind, almost like someone pierced a needle through his forehead. "Let him go, Tsunayoshi" he heard a cold whisper in his ears. Tsuna flinched violently and the momentary loss of concentration had him losing his grip on Xanxus, who descended headfirst towards the pavement. _This is not happening!_

 _"XANXUS!"_ Tsuna screamed and threw himself over the rails, pushing his arms forward to accelerate his fall. He barely reached Xanxus mid-air when he belatedly realized that he had left the pill in his cupboard. Tsuna screeched in terror clutching onto Xanxus shielding him from the fall. He was really gonna die this time.

* * *

 ** _Tsu-kun! How could you be so reckless?! O0O_**

 ** _Stay tuned!_**


	13. Tsuna's dreaded day

_**A.N:**_ Hey y'all! Thank you so much for stopping by. It's been pretty long and when I mean long I mean almost a year since I last posted. I promised to be a little consistent and I realize that the only talent I have is being inconsistent what with my fried laptop and my brain leaking through my nose and all (P.S: CSF Leak is a real thing, y'all!).

However, it heartens me to see you guys still glued to my story! Thank you my lovely readers and my lovely reviewers of my last chappy **D C JoKeR H S** and **seryuTammi.** You guys are awesome!

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own the familiar characters, unfortunately.

* * *

He wanted to watch the fireworks with his friends again. He wanted to confess to Kyoko she had been a constant motivating force in his life; that she had been his courage, his hope and his only love. He wanted to tell Gokudera-kun that he was the epitome of dedication and he deserved someone way better than Tsuna to serve under. He wanted to tell Yamamoto his optimism sometimes shone brighter than the sun and he should just man up and confess to Squalo already. He wanted to tell his mom she deserved the whole world and she was his greatest blessing. He wanted to tell his dad he really didn't hate him as much as he made out to be.

"Tuna fish?"

He didn't wanna die so young...

"Tsunayoshi…are you alright?"

He didn't wanna open his eyes and see the life beyond...

"Tsu-kun, please open your eyes!"

No! He was not ready to face reality or what was left of it. Period.

"WAKE THE FUCK UP, SCUM!"

" _HIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…._!" Tsuna tumbled out of the sofa, landing face first on the floor in a mess of tangled sheets and limbs. He looked up to see five relieved face and one murderous one glaring daggers at him. _Eh? What's going on?_ Tsuna blinked, getting on to his feet only to fall back from the force of his family's hug. He looked past them to see Nono smile at them fondly and Xanxus looking away.

 _Xanxus…_ Tsuna discretely ran his eyes over his body for injuries _. He's okay…_

"What happened?" Tsuna croaked out, a little lightheaded. Last thing he remembered were a pair of glowing eyes and a warm arm holding him tight.

Iemitsu smiled, ruffling his hair affectionately. "Well, I had gone to the airport to pick up the Ninth and on our leisurely way back home we saw the both of you doing an impressive dive towards the concrete."

A dive towards the concrete? Trust his Dad to make a joke out of his only child's near brush with the grim reaper. Tsuna thought wryly.

"Iemitsu realized it wasn't an intentional fall considering that the both of you had your eyes closed" Nono explained taking a seat by the coffee table, letting Gokudera kindly help with his coat.

"And then, faster that a blink of an eye, he swooped in and caught you both!" Yamamoto smiled, a look of awe etched on his face.

Tsuna blinked, a sense of euphoria taking over him. By some sheer luck, he had survived the fall. Looking at Xanxus approach him from the corner of his eyes, Tsuna sent a silent thanks to the heavens above for saving him yet again in his reckless pantomime.

"Oie!" He heard Xanxus bark at him in his usual distaste for him. Tsuna sighed; Xanxus may not thank him but the relief that engulfed his—

"Don't do something so reckless ever again, Tsunayoshi" he heard the gruff voice of Xanxus reach him, shocking him out of his daze. Before he could formulate a response, he felt himself be pulled into a hesitant and awkward one-arm embrace. His eyes widened as Xanxus' lips briefly ghosted near his ears and whispered 'I'll kill you myself next time, _you reckless idiot'_ before letting him go.

Tsuna smiled sympathetically as Xanxus looked pointedly at the floor. So uncharacteristic of Xanxus yet so warming and kind of him. He almost grinned at the way Xanxus desperately tried to inch towards the door while avoiding Nono's proud gaze. But before Xanxus could sneak off, he was pulled into a hug along with Tsuna by a very worried Nana Sawada

"I am so relieved, Tsu-kun. You wouldn't wake up and Dan-kun was hysterical. I couldn't stand to see the both of you like that" she sniffed and Tsuna felt his heartbreak just as he felt Xanxus hesitantly encircle his arms around them both. They met each other's eyes over her shoulders and Tsuna gave a watery laugh at Xanxus' flustered face. He looked adorable with his wide eyes and scarlet cheeks, Tsuna decided.

And just like that, his mom let him go and unleashed her full attention on Xanxus, pampering and coddling him while he visibly struggled not to squirm and fidget under her shower of affection.

Beyond it all, he could see Xanxus' eyes glow at him, his Flame radiating a sense of contentment and gratitude as he let his mom run her hand through his hair. Tsuna's face felt unbearably hot under the powerful eyes but nevertheless he let a goofy smile spread across his face. He could feel his dad's and the Ninth's Flame beam with pride, Gokudera's all ruffled up and Yamamoto's contagiously happy. Well, Tsuna sighed in contentment, everything seemed perfectly back to normal in the Sawada household.

* * *

Tsuna groaned. He'd take back all the things he said about wanting to live. He so wished that he had died yesterday so that he didn't have to face Parent's day. He let his face hit the desk hard, ignoring Xanxus' snort and his mom waving at him in the background. This was so embarrassing especially when he knew he was gonna let her down again. Not to mention humiliate himself further in front of his dad and the Ninth who had come all the way to attend in Xanxus' stead though he clearly didn't have to. Xanxus had been in a good mood all morning.

"Correct as always, Daniel-kun" he heard the pride in Susumu-sensei's voice as the class broke into applause and the parents offer their cheers as well. Nono looked like he was barely holding himself from doing a victory lap around the room while his mom squealed beside him.

Tsuna turned just in time to hear Gokudera's ' _all the best, Juudaime_ ' before his name was called. _No, no, Noooo…_ he did not want to be here now.

"Tsunayoshi-kun, I want you to observe the two dimensional graph in front of you and plot the point in this quadrant and I also want you to tell me this exact point" Susumu-sensei pointed out on the board before giving him a resigned look.

"Umm…" Tsuna trembled, observing the blurring graph and his sweaty hands and turned over to see his expectant parents. Swallowing hard, Tsuna closed his eyes and tried to recall Gokudera's words. _Positive, negative…_ Tsuna began to hyperventilate.

However, the signs on the board looked new. He felt his hands become clampy and his eyes start to water. He could feel eyes on him and the class starting to murmur and giggle. Way to top the humiliation off with his Dad vocally cheering him at the background. _He couldn't do it, he just couldn't…._ He was gonna tell Susumu-sensei he didn't know and then hide inside his locker for the rest of the day.

"Gomen, Susu—"

"Susumu-sensei!" Xanxus called out, raising his hands. "I don't think Tsunayoshi-kun can answer that." Tsuna felt himself shrink smaller than before, his breathing the only sound he heard in the silence of the room.

"In fact, I don't think anyone can answer that question, sensei" Xanxus added.

 _Eeh?!_ Tsuna stared at Xanxus who in turn smirked back at him.

"And why is that, Daniel-kun. I don't think the whole class is as, how should I put it, late blooming as Tsunayoshi-kun is" Susumu-sensei frowned, his eyebrows raised. Tsuna moaned. This was worse than last year!

"Weell…" Xanxus drawled lazily, "It's not Tsunayoshi-kun's fault that you got the graph quadrants wrong."

And that's when the whole class noticed that the quadrant signs were indeed wrong. Susumu-sensei blinked, cleared his throat before mumbling a soft apology. Tsuna visibly sagged in relief, hoping against hope that Susumu-sensei would have a change of heart and let him spare the embarrassment for once in his life.

"Now that we have it sorted out, won't you try again?" Susumu-sensei looked pointedly at Tsuna who flinched before focusing on the graph again. _Fat chance!_

Tsuna gulped, recalling the misadventures of the previous night and he was instantly reminded of Xanxus' unconventional teaching method and how he had told Tsuna to relate signs with emotions. _That's it!_ Tsuna scrutinized the graph carefully, mentally voicing out Xanxus' lecture in his delightful baritone.

"Fourth, fourth…." Tsuna thought out loud.

 ** _FLASH_**!

"Alright, now what comes before y?"

"In the same way, the point of x-axis always comes before y, got it?"

 ** _FLASH_!**

"X comes before Y" Tsuna squinted at the now clear graph. The point, he observed, was three points away from x-axis and two points away from y-axis. Then it must be three and two, he concluded with a self-satisfied sigh. And now the signs, what had Xanxus told him about signs? Positive on X and negative on Y, what did they stand for?

 ** _FLASH_**!

"Someone who is all positive and strong on the outside but it's actually cold and dead down on the inside"

"You look strong, unbreakable and almost immortal on the outside but deep inside, you are vulnerable, hurt and in pain"

 ** _FLASH_**!

Positive and negative…Tsuna closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This must be it. _THIS HAD TO BE IT!_

A smile blossomed across his face as he yelled out the answer. "IT'S (3,-2)!"

His voice strangely echoed in the quiet room before Susumu-sensei's book slipped out of his lax hand and hit the floor with a resonating thud.

 _He had to be right, he had to be right…_ Tsuna mentally chanted.

"You are right, Tsunayoshi-kun" he whispered in pleasant surprise before he cleared his throat and smiled. "You got it right, very good."

He didn't know from where it began but a huge applause swept across the room; his mother rejoicing above the din and his dad shedding tears of joy; Gokudera-kun patting him on the back and the Ninth offering praises. And Tsuna definitely didn't miss the relieved smile on Xanxus' face.

* * *

Xanxus sighed for what he counted as the umpteenth time since the meeting. While seeing Tsunayoshi answer had been strangely gratifying as he knew that he had a part to play in it, he didn't expect the brat to actually blurt out to the Sawada's and his old man that he had learned math with Xanxus' help.

The shower of praises that followed were sickening; not to mention the absolute sense of pride radiating from the Ninth and the grateful eyes of Tsuna that followed his every move. It was enough for him to excuse himself from the crowd and lock himself in the men's washroom. It had been fifteen minutes, yet he refused to absolutely move from his perch on the marble counter.

He couldn't wait to get back to Italy and to his old, carefree ways. As much as he loved Nana's cooking and troubling Tsunayoshi, his heart throbbed for something else; or perhaps a certain someone. Xanxus snorted and hopped of the counter before turning the pipe and splashing cool water on his face. Frankly, he missed him; he missed them, the Varia.

He looked at his reflection in the mirror and closed his eyes at the defeated man he saw in them. Somewhere along their schedule between taking on brutal assassinations and disrupting each other's rooms and routines just to be obnoxious, the Varia had grown into something he'd consider as family. They were messed up just as him, cruel and brutal. And yet, Xanxus would sometimes sit in the solitude of his room and wonder what injustice had been done to them to make them so twisted.

"Well, I know mine..." he mumbled to no one in particular before checking the time on his watch. Half an hour was all the freedom he could get for now before Iemitsu came around looking for his hide.

His attention perked up when the door opened and a tall, lean lad walked in. _Funny..._ he was sure he had locked the door...

Xanxus' eyes narrowed as he observed the guy who stood beside him near the sink a whole foot taller than Xanxus and holding a striking resemblance to Rokudo Mukuro. Something about his posture and his long, ebony hair seemed familiar but Xanxus concluded it was none of his business as he turned to leave and reached for the door.

What he didn't expect was for his wrists to be suddenly grabbed in a vice grip and twisted against his back nor for a taut body to press against him a crush him against the door.

"Teme…" Xanxus growled low in his throat. He hated bullies as long as he could remember and if Iemitsu thought he could save them from him like he did back in the academy, then screw him!

"I'll give you three seconds to unhand me." He threatened, a sense of panic crawling into him when he felt the grip strong and unrelenting. "I promise to give you a quick, painful death."

The chill laughter that echoed through the room had his heart skip a beat. "Painful, you say?" Xanxus barely managed to hide a flinch when he felt those words breathed down his neck.

Whoever was manhandling him was too close for comfort. Xanxus reeled when his captor reached a hand around to cup his cheeks in a firm yet gentle grip. His touch almost seemed loving.

"You know nothing about pain, little one." He gasped despite himself when he felt a thumb caress his captive wrists almost coyly. "Nothing at all…" the voice whispered against the crook of his neck before he felt sharp fangs pierce him.

* * *

 **Well...that was fun to right...**

 **Though I must confess that suspense writing precedes me.**

 **Stay tuned!**


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